Would You Consider This Tax Evasion?

[warpus]

Well, it's none of my business to be honest. I don't file anything with the IRS either, so me and him are not so dissimilar.

 

[Borachio]

Well, you may not directly, but I should think they know about you through your employer.

 

[warpus]

Oh no, they do not at all. I work in the great white north.

 

[Borachio]

Duh! Of course you do! I forgot that.

The CRA, then. Do they know about you?

 

[warpus]

Oh, definitely. They know everything about me. If they didn't, I'd be in trouble, or out on the streets somewhere, warning passersby of the impending Martian invasion.

 

[sophie]

When bartering it is best to avoid items that are specifically denominated in dollars (like gift cards), because if you receive stuff as payment you are technically expected to count the value of the stuff as wages.

It is pretty easy to say "I spent the day working and got a power supply for my computer in return" and have the grey area be so murky that even the IRS would prefer you don't mention it. Was the item brand new? Should the wage be considered the retail value of the item? What if the guy I got it from owns a computer shop so he paid wholesale price for it? Etc etc etc...

But a gift card in dollars has a clearly defined value. No ducking that.

Well yeah your PSU example works...as long as you don't liquidate the "Thing" in a manner that leaves a paper trail. If you hock it for cash from another private individual who isn't going to report it on his taxes then you're fine. But the instant it gets bought and that expense is reported, there's now a value attached to the good.

 

[Hygro]

Hm, wouldn't you want to not hold back so that you can be receiving raises so that eventually you're making a butt ton more?

 

[Archbob]

I think you're doing tax evasion, Commodore, granted that the following is correct:
If I remember correctly, you have a progressive tax system. As in the tax rates for people earning less than 100 dollars apply to the first 100 dollars anyone makes. And if the poor don't pay tax I would assume a the first few dollars are tax free. It wouldn't make sense if being just above the poverty line meant you had to pay taxes that left you with less money than someone just below the poverty line that doesn't have to pay taxes.

If this is true, your situation seems to be so: the money you get at this point should be tax-free anyway, and you make sure too work just not enough to pay taxes. Like, I get an impression that your goal isn't to save money, but rather to not pay taxes.

This is not tax evasion. Tax evasion is when you don't pay taxes you owe. He doesn't owe any taxes.

 

[sophie]

This is not tax evasion. Tax evasion is when you don't pay taxes you owe. He doesn't owe any taxes.

It's not tax evasion, no. It is backwards thinking though. By throttling your income (assuming he means "choosing not to earn more", rather than "hiding earned income elsewhere /"putting it somewhere non-taxable") you are effectively taxing yourself at 100% for that extra earned income, rather than the 20 or 25% it would be if you just earned it outright.

 

[Wolfbeckett]

It's not tax evasion, no. It is backwards thinking though. By throttling your income (assuming he means "choosing not to earn more", rather than "hiding earned income elsewhere /"putting it somewhere non-taxable") you are effectively taxing yourself at 100% for that extra earned income, rather than the 20 or 25% it would be if you just earned it outright.

I believe the relevant phrase here is "cutting off your nose to spite your face".

 

[El_Machinae]

Society is not owed your labour, so it's not tax evasion. If you want to work the minimum to get by, that's fine. It strikes me as a bit of a waste, since we live in a society where we can get progressively wealthier as well as contributing to the total wealth of the society. You're also hurting your long-term retirement options, since you're slotting in less money both into Social Security and into general investments.

I was raised differently, where once we have the liberty of having a middle income, we can now use our spare capacity to make the world a better place. What's the point of having all that power if you're going to hamstring your potential?

But no, it's not evasion.

 

[JollyRoger]

This is not tax evasion. Tax evasion is when you don't pay taxes you owe. He doesn't owe any taxes.

He owes self-employment taxes (the substitute for FICA withholdings that wage serfs get hit with)..

 

[Timsup2nothin]

Well yeah your PSU example works...as long as you don't liquidate the "Thing" in a manner that leaves a paper trail. If you hock it for cash from another private individual who isn't going to report it on his taxes then you're fine. But the instant it gets bought and that expense is reported, there's now a value attached to the good.

The only reason I worked yesterday was because I needed the power supply, so there is no liquidation in its future.

As to why I live the way I live...my disgust with many things that taxes purportedly pay for left me inclined to not pay taxes. In order to not pay taxes while still being able to complain loudly about how the government does things I could not be evading taxes lest I wind up in jail, so I opted to stop making income.

I find myself vastly happier than I was when I 'had to work to pay my bills', but that may just be me.

 

[sophie]

The only reason I worked yesterday was because I needed the power supply, so there is no liquidation in its future.

As to why I live the way I live...my disgust with many things that taxes purportedly pay for left me inclined to not pay taxes. In order to not pay taxes while still being able to complain loudly about how the government does things I could not be evading taxes lest I wind up in jail, so I opted to stop making income.

I find myself vastly happier than I was when I 'had to work to pay my bills', but that may just be me.

Well yeah. Except in the example Narz had the guy is being paid in gift cards which he then turns around and liquidates on ebay. I'm still trying to figure out why the IRS hasn't descended on him yet. Is ebay under-the-table pay? It's either that or the guy is just too small time to really interest the IRS.

 

[Archbob]

He owes self-employment taxes (the substitute for FICA withholdings that wage serfs get hit with)..

The way he explained it, his military disability pay or whatever is completely tax-exempt, which I would assume would include self-employment taxes.

I never claimed it wasn't foolish to throttle your income in order to not pay taxes, I just said its not illegal or immoral.

Well yeah. Except in the example Narz had the guy is being paid in gift cards which he then turns around and liquidates on ebay. I'm still trying to figure out why the IRS hasn't descended on him yet. Is ebay under-the-table pay? It's either that or the guy is just too small time to really interest the IRS.

It depends if they can track it or not. If you get paid all in cash like lets say some Chinese restaurants, then its really hard for thee IRS to keep track of.

 

[warpus]

I find myself vastly happier than I was when I 'had to work to pay my bills', but that may just be me.

All very interesting. And your girlfriend doesn't seem to mind either, which is a plus.

 

[Timsup2nothin]

All very interesting. And your girlfriend doesn't seem to mind either, which is a plus.

She was supporting herself at a level she was comfortable with before I wandered into her life, and still is, so she doesn't need any financial support from me. One of the great common difficulties people create in being a couple is that the two together can support a lifestyle that neither can by themselves so they end up dependent on staying together long after they have any interest in being together. I solved that problem, among many others, by making no money and spending same.

 

[warpus]

I just meant that you have a unique taken on life it seems, and I don't generally understand women very well, but it seems that a lot of them would say: "What do you mean you don't do money?" and then walk away. So good on you to find someone who groks you.

 

[JollyRoger]

The way he explained it, his military disability pay or whatever is completely tax-exempt, which I would assume would include self-employment taxes.

His other "below poverty" income is not tax exempt though and is subject to self employment tax.

 

[Timsup2nothin]

I just meant that you have a unique taken on life it seems, and I don't generally understand women very well, but it seems that a lot of them would say: "What do you mean you don't do money?" and then walk away. So good on you to find someone who groks you.

Lots start to walk away. When I point out that the whole 'let a man take care of you' thing is total anathema to them so the fact that I tell them straight out I am not going to should actually attract them they routinely get very confused. Out of confusion comes growth.

Many women have embraced the 'independent career woman' position without updating the relationship model that they inherited from their parents or even beyond. "I want to be self supporting" is in fact incompatible with "I want a man who provides". It seems obvious, and once pointed out it is obvious, but the number of successful, lonely women who can't quite put their finger on it for themselves is mind boggling.

Another mind boggling thing is the number of men struggling to reconcile "I don't want to be a meal ticket" with having their masculinity so intertwined with their "ability to provide" that they can't deal with a woman who they perceive doesn't financially need them.