Tone

I recently had the privilege of receiving a correspondence from the United States Internal Revenues Service. It would appear that while filing my taxes last year, I failed to remember to declare the sale of a retirement account. The IRS does not appear to be amused by this oversight and has been so kind as to send me this nasty-gram to remind me that they always get what is theirs.

The tone of the letter can be summed up in one word, serious. As you might imagine, the letter is very serious and matter of fact. One might even categorize the tone of the letter as threatening, which I suppose can be necessary when informing people of debts and making sure that they are paid.

The letter goes about itemizing the current amount that is due and has places for penalties and interest to be listed if applicable. The body of the letter is very to the point and contains information on how to go about payment and the ramifications for not rendering payment. It threatens to impose interest, penalties and even liens if the amount is not paid.

The tone is very business like and I don’t think that is by chance. In delivering a correspondence of this type, it would appear that it is advantageous to make sure that the recipient knows that you are serious and that you mean business and this letter certainly accomplishes that goal.