[ back ]
$436,000 tax refund surprises local business
(by Barbara Christian - February 24, 2010)
$436,000 tax refund surprises local business
By BARBARA CHRISTIAN
Jonathan's Slain was in for a surprise when he opened an envelope from the Ohio Department of Taxation last Friday and found a check for $436,000 made out to his Fitness Together business.
"I was opening the mail at my house, and there was this check from the Ohio Department of Taxation made out to my business, Cordis Corp., and it had my address on it," Mr. Slain, a Bentleyville resident, said.
Almost half-a-million dollars is not a sum to be laughed at, but that is what Mr. Slain did. He said he is still laughing, just not all the way to the bank.
"We had not filed for 2009, so I kind of knew there was something wrong," he said.
To make sure, he said, he called his accountant, who verified that his fitness studio was not the right recipient.
Mr. Slain said he learned the problem had to do with his fitness studio's name, Cordis Corp., a registered Ohio company which serves as the Fitness Together management firm.
He since has learned there is another Cordis Corp. in the state, a subsidiary of the home-products company Johnson & Johnson.
Mr. Slain said he believes the other Cordis was incorporated in another state and relocated to Ohio.
The check mixup was not totally unexpected, Mr. Slain said.
"Fitness Together has sometimes had mixups involving Ohio sending documents that were intended for the Cordis affiliated with Johnson & Johnson," he said. "But never anything of this magnitude.
"We have already returned the check to the state, but it did my business partners and me and my family a lot to talk about this past weekend," Mr. Slain said.
"It's always fun to think about what you would do with a half-million dollar windfall," he said. "It's kind of like in Monopoly when you pull the Community Chest card that says 'bank error in your favor.'
"We never really considered keeping it but it sure has been a lot of fun speculating," he said.
Mr. Slain said he called the state department of taxation right away and was greeted by an employee with no sense of humor. She informed him that he had to return the check and suggested he mail it back, he said.
"I couldn't get even a giggle out of her," Mr. Slain said. "She was very short with me and did not think it was funny," he said.
Mr. Slain said he laughs when he talks about how or if he will ever be reimbursed for the 44-cent stamp and envelope for returning the check.
Other partners in the four-location family, owned personal training business are Mr. Slain's two brothers-in-law, Michael Hall and Brad Newcomb. They have locations in Chagrin Falls, Solon, Hudson and Rocky River.
[ back ]
