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Tax Study: Scientists More Likely to Cheat Than Lawyers
Time ^ | 04/17/2011 | Stephen Gandel

Posted on 04/17/2011 5:12:52 PM PDT by SeekAndFind

The butcher. The baker. The Candlestick maker. They are not just three guys in a tub. They're probably tax cheats.

Tax day comes three days late in 2011 on Monday, April 18th, instead of April 15th. But even after the deadline to file your taxes comes and goes, there will be hundreds of thousand of Americans who haven't fully paid what they owe to Uncle Sam. The annual tax gap is estimated at about $350 billion. That's the difference between what is owed in taxes every year and what gets paid on time.

So who isn't paying? Scientists, it appears. A recent study looked at tax cheats and found that one of the best indicators of who is likely to try to get around paying their taxes in full is their profession. The study, by University of Chicago doctoral student Oscar Vela, looked at the percent people misrepresented their income and then ranked them by profession. There were of course some industries you would expect at the top of the list - landscapers, electricians and general contractors. Those people where people usually work for themselves and are often paid in cash making misreporting your income easier.

But there where some surprises. Lawyers it turns out are the least likely to cheat. Another group of people most likely to pay their taxes in full: chief executive officers. On the other end of the spectrum are scientists, who were on average likely to understate their income by as much as 35%. Journalists didn't rank very high in tax integrity either. On average people in the media and arts tended to understate their income by 25%. At the top of the list were bakers and butchers. That group on average understated their income by 40%.

(Excerpt) Read more at curiouscapitalist.blogs.time.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: lawyers; scientists; taxcheat; taxstudy
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1 posted on 04/17/2011 5:12:54 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
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To: SeekAndFind

TOP 10 CATEGORIES OF TAX CHEATING PROFESSIONS ACCORDING TO THE IRS STUDY :

1) Production Workers - bakers, butchers, factory workers, jewelers

2) Building and Ground Maintenance - cleaning staffs, janitors, landscapers, pest control workers

3) Transportation and Material Moving Operations - bus drivers, parking lot attendants, movers

4) Construction Trade - contractors, electricians, house painters

5) Install, Maintain and Repair - auto mechanics, home Appliance repairmen, locksmiths

6) Life, Physical and Social Sciences - chemists, economists, zoologists

7) Protective Services - crossing guards, firefighters, police, security guards

8 ) Personal Care - childcare workers, funeral attendants, manicurists

9) Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports and Media - actors, editors, public relations specialists

10) Healthcare Support - dental assistants, home health aides, massage therapists

( I guess restaurant owners aren’t considered professions but small businesses. A lot of what they do are IN CASH ).


2 posted on 04/17/2011 5:15:49 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
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To: SeekAndFind

How about Treasury Secretaries and Attorney Generals?


3 posted on 04/17/2011 5:21:27 PM PDT by Cicero
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To: SeekAndFind
( I guess restaurant owners aren’t considered professions but small businesses. A lot of what they do are IN CASH ).

Restaurant owners get a lot of scrutiny from taxing authorities. They also have a lot of staff turnover, which means there are a lot of ex-employees to report them if they don't pay.

4 posted on 04/17/2011 5:25:25 PM PDT by Huntress ("Politicians exploit economic illiteracy." --Walter Williams)
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To: AdmSmith; AnonymousConservative; Berosus; bigheadfred; ColdOne; Convert from ECUSA; Delacon; ...

Thanks SeekAndFind.
The annual tax gap is estimated at about $350 billion. That's the difference between what is owed in taxes every year and what gets paid on time.
$350 billion? Don't make me laugh.


5 posted on 04/17/2011 5:29:07 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (Thanks Cincinna for this link -- http://www.friendsofitamar.org)
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To: SunkenCiv

You owe them more???

Outstanding!!!

The difference is lawyers are the only ones who can understand the tax code enough to cheat. Until they get involved in politics. Then it don’t matter if’n they get caught.


6 posted on 04/17/2011 5:34:57 PM PDT by bigheadfred (Beat me, Bite me...Make Me Write Bad Checks)
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To: SeekAndFind

As a former bartender, I have no idea what you are talking about. No to say what Uncle Sam doesn’t know won’t hurt him.


7 posted on 04/17/2011 5:59:10 PM PDT by MontaniSemperLiberi (Moutaineers are Always Free)
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To: MontaniSemperLiberi

Not to say what Uncle Sam doesn’t know won’t hurt him.


8 posted on 04/17/2011 5:59:53 PM PDT by MontaniSemperLiberi (Moutaineers are Always Free)
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To: bigheadfred
Ha, ha, I have never met an attorney that understood the tax code, the IRS and the attorneys just have that profession ethic thing about swimming with fellow sharks.
9 posted on 04/17/2011 6:04:32 PM PDT by org.whodat
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To: SeekAndFind

I am surprised that dealers in used goods are not listed. Or maybe they just don’t report anything at all. Art, antiques, collectibles, and businesses of that sort are full of all kinds of chicanery.


10 posted on 04/17/2011 6:06:14 PM PDT by proxy_user
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To: proxy_user
If an IRS get bonuses for catching tax cheats.

Look for Democratic Politicians and Liberal Actors and Actresses.

11 posted on 04/17/2011 6:08:13 PM PDT by scooby321
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12 posted on 04/17/2011 6:09:40 PM PDT by TheOldLady
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To: org.whodat
the attorneys just have that profession ethic thing about swimming with fellow sharks.

See? Couldn't have defined tax code better myself.

13 posted on 04/17/2011 6:18:36 PM PDT by bigheadfred (Beat me, Bite me...Make Me Write Bad Checks)
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To: scooby321

14 posted on 04/17/2011 6:30:40 PM PDT by BenLurkin (This post is not a statement of fact. It is merely a personal opinion -- or humor -- or both)
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To: SeekAndFind

The headline is totally out of sync with the article. Scientists aren’t even mentioned in the list of those most likely to cheat.


15 posted on 04/17/2011 6:37:20 PM PDT by norwaypinesavage (Galileo: In science, the authority of a thousand is not worth the humble reasoning of one individual)
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To: norwaypinesavage

RE: . Scientists aren’t even mentioned in the list of those most likely to cheat.

They are however mentioned in the article. Let’s cut and paste the relevant portions of the article:

“So who isn’t paying? Scientists, it appears. A recent study looked at tax cheats and found that one of the best indicators of who is likely to try to get around paying their taxes in full is their profession.”

.....

.....

On the other end of the spectrum are scientists, who were on average likely to understate their income by as much as 35%. Journalists didn’t rank very high in tax integrity either.


16 posted on 04/17/2011 6:45:07 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
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To: norwaypinesavage

EDIT TO ADD:

FROM THE LIST:

6) Life, Physical and Social Sciences - chemists, economists, zoologists

I believe those in the above fields are considered scientists.


17 posted on 04/17/2011 6:47:06 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
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To: SeekAndFind

The list is so all encompassing it would have been easier to list the groups NOT named.


18 posted on 04/17/2011 6:59:00 PM PDT by TxDas (This above all, to thine ownself be true.)
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To: SeekAndFind

For some of these, it’s hard to see how they would get paid under the table. University scientists? Any business that collects sales tax?


19 posted on 04/17/2011 7:55:19 PM PDT by HiTech RedNeck (Hawk)
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To: SeekAndFind
I believe those in the above fields are considered scientists.

Economists? please. The Nobel Prize in Economics may go to someone whose ideas are the total antithesis of last year's guy. Does the Nobel committee say "Whoops we really stuffed it up last year"?

20 posted on 04/18/2011 1:39:32 AM PDT by Oztrich Boy (Radioactive plume to hit USA. President Obama and family fly to Brazil)
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