The story hook, aside from the fact that Soccergirl is obviously an attractive young woman who frequently talks about sex with her audience, is the type of stuff she's trying to get away with on her income tax returns:
Sometime last year, podcaster Anneke Rudegeair bought three different brands of condoms. This month, she sat down with TurboTax and listed the cost of rubbers as a deduction. It was, she believes, a business expense.
The story goes on to quote a number of interesting folks that they've contact in for their expert opinion: lawyers, accountants, Rob Walch and Julia Allison. While Rob made some decent points on the nebulous nature of business and pleasure for folks in the business of profiteering from their daily life, it was Julia Allison that made the most salient observation:
"The IRS doesn't understand, isn't interested in understanding that your personal life can sometimes merge with your professional life," she said. "It has to be 100 percent business. If there's even a small percentage that is for your personal life, you can't expense it."
In this instance, it's not real difficult to make the judgement call on this one. Let me give you the benefit of my personal experience when it comes to taxes. I'm a libertarian, and a former very active member of several Libertarian Party functions. Like every good LPer, I've seen From Freedom to Fascism, and by and large, I agree with most of the points that the movie makes. Strictly interpreted history and constitutional law says that the Federal Income Tax is unconstitutional. I personally believe that I shouldn't have to pay it.
Folks in the party I belong to get out there and protest this law every year, and some will even go so far as to protest the law by not paying it. As is evidenced by the many ruined lives profiled in Aaron Russo's film, though, the IRS really doesn't care one lick if you have the best argued reasons in the world not to pay them money. They will make your life a living hell until you bend to their will.
And this is why I never once participated in these tax day protests, never participated in the activity of withholding taxes from the government, and why I advise all those folks that are inspired by From Freedom to Fascism not to suddenly start making a stink with their local taxman over Federal Income Tax constitutionality. The IRS does not have a sense of humor that they're aware of, they won't find the expensing of everything in your life to be amusing, or admissable, and they will audit you from here to the other certainty in life until you bend to their will.