Author Mary L. Sprouse, who as an IRS employee claims to have "personally audited over 1,000 returns," has turned consumer advocate with a vengeance. (Sample: "Give yourself, not the IRS, the benefit of the doubt. Interpret the law in your favor.") If she sometimes sounds schoolmarmish—"The fundamentals we are going to explore in this chapter are..."—at least you learn a lot. Drought deduction? Lists as nondeductible "unless severe and unprecedented." (Penguin, $9.95)
Your Reaction
