Tony Taxpayer's return has come up for audit by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). He took some deductions this year for an office in his home. Amelio Auditor at the IRS has disallowed that deduction and invited Tony to come to the office to discuss that item as well as a few other items on the return. Tony's profession is tax consulting, and he listed his occupation on his return as attorney. Tony has taken several deductions this year that might be considered aggressive; however, Tony believes that he has done no wrong. In fact, he thinks he is being singled out due to his profession. He is short on money and is worried about paying any additional assessment the IRS may make. Therefore, he is planning on giving up the office deduction in order to close the audit as quickly as possible. Amelio has never seen a home office deduction that was proper except for his own during his pre-IRS days as a independent consultant.
1. Apply general attribution theory to analyze and explain each party's attitudes and conclusions. Hint: Use consensus, consistency, distinctiveness, and the fundamental error.
2. Explain how perception affected each party's negotiation goals.
3. Apply the theory of symbolic interactionism to each party in the case by identifying where you see each party's "me, myself, and I."