I’ve already told a lot of people about this, but it’s too good not to share.
Apparently a lot of people don’t pay the income taxes they owe, and the I.R.S. doesn’t have the resources to catch them. The I.R.S., of course, has been asking for more money, but for the past few years to no avail.
At a congressional hearing in 2015, Representative Mike Kelly, a Pennsylvania Republican, scolded the head of the I.R.S. for talking publicly about the agency’s lack of resources.
“I don’t think that I would want to be a cheerleader, telling those people that don’t want to pay their taxes: ‘Hey, you know what? We are not going to be able to come after you because I don’t have enough money,’ ” Mr. Kelly said, later adding, “Those comments are better kept internally.”
—The Taxman Is (Not) Coming After You
Andy and I have just spent hours double checking our taxes to make sure we did them correctly. We will continue to do so every year in spite of the shenanigans in Washington.
March 29, 2019
ditto you and Andy. it’s just what people with integrity do I guess.
why would anyone cheat? whether they might get caught or not! not the point.
Yep, but it doesn’t foster warm feelings towards our government.
I find it infuriating for those of us that do faithfully pay our taxes or at least file our return for a refund. But what are you going to do.There will always be people who think they are above it all. I’m pretty sure though, that if I didn’t pay my taxes, I would get caught.
Yes, it’s really bad for morale and is bound to have repercussions in the long run.
Me, too, and it’s always a good feeling to put that task behind me. I go to a CPA although they have gotten simpler to do since we no longer have businesses and rental property but old habits are hard to break.
We actually knew a guy who didn’t pay taxes for seven years and the feds did come after him. They took his property and sold it at auction but not before he had an armed fight over it. He spent time in prison. He was anti-government and had the means to pay, he just didn’t want to.
We will just focus on how good it feels to hopefully have done a good job and ignore the people who flout the laws, or else write the laws that make shirking easy for them to do legally.
We file because it is the right thing to do. The fact that we would be the ones they came after if we didn’t is beside the point.
I think that’s the healthy way to look at it.
Honestly, don’t people KNOW why we pay taxes? It’s quite arrogant to use roads, take advantage of governmental systems and not pay taxes. It’s the responsible thing to do.
Unfortunately some people think dodging taxes is smart and that responsible people are suckers. I’ve been called worse. 😀