Less to See than on NHL Center Ice®

[taxwonk]

Originally posted by sebastian_dangerfield
I'd never lie on my taxes, but I'm certainly not going to look really closely to make sure uncle sam gets every nickel he wants. If I miss something, it'll be something I owe, not something I'm owed, but it'll be small enough that no one would give a shit anyway.

I have a friend with a business who basically just lies on his taxes year in year out. He claims as long as he steals only 20k or so a year, no one will ever bother. Is there a cut off like the SEC stuff (won't look at you for insider info unless you have really large suspicious trades or a part of a huge wave of sudden suspicious trades)?

The IRS looks at national averages on deduction and credit categories for income brackets, and they also have a list of transactions or tax items for which a flag is raised. The audit lottery is basically a result of their being too few revenue agents to examine returns, so they tend to go for the ones that look like they'll raise the greatest deficiency relative to reported income.

Of course, none of that applies if the revenue agent comes in to work pissed off and ready to fuck somebody up and they just happen to grab your return out the stack.

One thing that works in everybody's favor is the end of an old program called the Taxpayer Compliance Study. Under that program, phased out in the early 90's, the IRS regularly pulled several hundred returns a year at random, and called the taxpayers in to audit their returns line by line, just to figure out where everybody was fudging it. God help the bastard who got called in on one of those.

[Hank Chinaski]

Originally posted by ltl/fb
mmmmmm Taxcode

Fringe, its bad enough that you guys fuck up PB every week or so with this tax crap. Would you please not join in so maybe it'll die?

[Replaced_Texan]

Originally posted by taxwonk

But if you're more comfortable not filing an amended return, then fuck 'em. I think only about a couple thousand lawyers get their licenses suspended or pulled for tax issues every year. It's not like it's your livelihood or real money on the line or anything.

Originally posted by ltl/fb

ETA hey, look, seriously, what can they do to you? It's just the IRS. I think you are absolutely taking the right approach. You and mmmmmm. Kudos to both of you.

How cute. After all these years, you're finally agreeing on something.

[taxwonk]

Originally posted by bilmore
Heck, you get suspended for non-knowing tax violations. Imagine what they do with the knowing stuff?

But, the forms are a pain.

(P.S. Uh, it wasn't something that someone else expensed, was it?)

They go a little harder on the tax lawyers and accountants, but even they don't get suspended for non-knowing violations. It's the stuff that you knew about, but deducted anyway, or the income that you never thought they'd be able to trace to you that gets you suspended. Even if you aren;t a tax lawyer, if they have you on fraud, or even on what they think is fraud but don't think they can win in court, they have been known to inform your state bar authority.

[taxwonk]

Originally posted by robustpuppy
You gotta polish your marketing.

Actually, that pitch has been surprisingly effective. I call it my "elegantly understated sledge hammer" approach.

[bilmore]

Originally posted by taxwonk
They go a little harder on the tax lawyers and accountants, but even they don't get suspended for non-knowing violations.

Really? Ever just assume your employees' withholding funds got transferred, when they actually didn't?

[taxwonk]

Originally posted by ltl/fb
ETA hey, look, seriously, what can they do to you? It's just the IRS. I think you are absolutely taking the right approach. You and mmmmmm. Kudos to both of you.

Ixnay on the onay oblempray, willya? I'm trying to drum up some bidness here.

[ltl/fb]

Originally posted by Replaced_Texan
How cute. After all these years, you're finally agreeing on something.

We agree on tax stuff quite frequently. Here, we are agreeing on tax stuff and agreeing we hate people in general.

I think sunny's post about the neti has given me a series of sinus headaches.

[Shape Shifter]

Originally posted by Hank Chinaski
Fringe, its bad enough that you guys fuck up PB every week or so with this tax crap. Would you please not join in so maybe it'll die?

I was going to make a sock to stop this nonsense, but none of the tax pictures I found were as catchy as the nose-o-rooter things. Can you photoshop something for me?

[Replaced_Texan]

Originally posted by Shape Shifter
I was going to make a sock to stop this nonsense, but none of the tax pictures I found were as catchy as the nose-o-rooter things. Can you photoshop something for me?

I'm noticing a trend in the originator of both threads.

I'm not hungover anymore, but I've got nothing of interest to contribute. Not even a cautionary tale at my own expense.

[ltl/fb]

Originally posted by bilmore
Really? Ever just assume your employees' withholding funds got transferred, when they actually didn't?

Well for a WITHHOLDING violation, sure. They really don't like those. But that's not so much a personal taxes issue.

Sebby/mmmm -- when you start up your businesses that will be so much better and more lucrative than the law, trust me and wanker on this, the IRS/SSA don't *really* care when you send in the withholding. It can wait until the end of the quarter if you are having cashflow problems. Ditto on amounts withheld from employees' paychecks that is supposed to go to the retirement plan -- the Dept of Labor and IRS really do understand that you needed that money to pay for business entertainment, and that you'll deposit it when you can.

[ltl/fb]

Originally posted by taxwonk
Ixnay on the onay oblempray, willya? I'm trying to drum up some bidness here.

You can charge whatever rate you want once they meet with the IRS.

[sunnybunny]

Originally posted by ltl/fb
We agree on tax stuff quite frequently. Here, we are agreeing on tax stuff and agreeing we hate people in general.

I think sunny's post about the neti has given me a series of sinus headaches.

WHAT!!!! I HAD LIKE TWO NETI POSTS. IT'S NOT MY FAULT IT SPAWNED A WHOLE LOTTA SOCKS.

On another note...my first boyfriend's parents were both IRS auditors. I wonder if their phone number is still the same...do you think they'd give me a kickback for reporting you tax evaders? DO you think they'll take me seriously when I say "sebastian dangerfield" cheated on his taxes?

[Not Bob]

Originally posted by Replaced_Texan
You two really were made for each other...

You are one brave Texan. I will miss you.

In other news, I love Sirius satellite radio. (I would probably love XM, too.) In particular, the "Left of Center" and "Underground Garage" stations will allow me to converse intelligently with Flower about hep music the next time I am in the Twin Cities.

[taxwonk]

Originally posted by bilmore
Really? Ever just assume your employees' withholding funds got transferred, when they actually didn't?

Trust fund stuff is a wole different kettle of fish. If you ever get in employment tax trouble, you be really screwed.