Q: I followed your recommendation for avoiding an audit by filing a late return. I filed an extension, but a couple of months later I was audited. Obviously, your method doesn't work!

A: I said that filing a six-month extension on your return will reduce, not eliminate, your chances of an audit. The only way to completely avoid an audit is to file the short form and pay half your income to the government! I got the idea from tax attorney Randy Bruce Blaustein, who publicized the technique in his best-seller, How to Do Business with the IRS. It's possible the IRS are onto his idea. That's always the drawback of publicizing good tax ideas.