Posted on 07/05/2007 3:17:45 PM PDT by indigo5
According to an IRS spokesperson in an article about anti-war tax resistance, 16.3% of Americans are in non-compliance with their taxes according to the Associated Press.That isn't fudging the numbers or coming up with creative tax deductions; it's simply evading taxes outright. While the story about the anti-war movement calling on people to not pay taxes to protest the war is interesting, the fact that a growing number of Americans are simply evading taxes is startling.
According to IRS estimates, that means there is $345 billion in uncollected taxes per year or roughly 2.6% of the national GDP. As a result of collection efforts, the IRS has generated over $48 billion of that amount in 2006 (or about 15%) according to CNN. These estimates do not include corporations using tax shelters (which "legally" protect them from taxes) or the rich using similar tactics. In 2006, the IRS audited about 1.3 million tax returns out of 130 million filed or an audit rate of about 1% according to an IRS source quoted by CNN. With over 16% overtly flouting the IRS, at best only 1% of those will even be challenged.
(Excerpt) Read more at associatedcontent.com ...
More and more people are finding ways of working off the books, and it’s not just illegals. People from all walks of life are doing it.
A great number of them are IRS employees and other federal scofflaws. They believe in the Leona Helmsley doctrine: “Taxes are for the little people.”
Almost 1? Like what, three quarters of an American?
maybe they just find the system designed for levying and collecting those taxes overwhelmingly burdensome? A simpler system *cough* fair tax *cough* would help alleviate this problem greatly, I’d guess...
“More and more people are finding ways of working off the books, and it’s not just illegals. People from all walks of life are doing it.”
As the government finds more and more ways to make it impossible to get by, who can blame them. As long as they are legal citizens, I say go for it.
So, using a Flat Tax or Fair Tax would actually force these “protestors” to stay legit.
Yet another reason to have it!
I’m noting that 1/6 not paying is merely 1/50th the taxes.
Demographically speaking, that’s about 1 in 4 lower-middle class people. The key demographic for the Democratic party (vote-wise).
If the Middle Class had done this, the impact would have been alot bigger. But then, the middle class isn’t (as a whole) buying the “Bush Lied, People Died” liberal media...
The rules regs and forms are getting pretty ridiculous. Have you looked at the amount of time it takes for some of those forms?
BUMP!
If our politicians can pick and choose which laws they are going to abide by and which ones they will ignore, why can’t citizens do the same thing?
Some animals are more equal then others.
Agreed! The Fair tax would end all loopholes.
My phone bill has a tax,my check at work has a tax,my gasoline has a tax,my property has a tax,my car has a tax,my cigars have a tax,my inheritance has a tax,my power bill has a tax,my beer has a tax,even my golf,has a tax.
Pay taxes so the govt. can support illegals welfare?
F.em.
As a fencer would say .......touche’
They will be hounded FOR LIFE!
Penalties and interest will compound and compound and compound.
It will never go away.
Their houses will be seized — their wages garnished — etc., etc., etc.
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