*how* would you not pay taxes?

GreenTeaDiseaseGreenTeaDisease Posts: 3,359
edited March 2008 in A Moving Train
people in another thread are discussing how, by paying your taxes, you are ok'ing the war. That issue aside, if one were to choose not to pay taxes, how is that possible? I can see if maybe you own your own business or at the end of the year you owe money and never pay it. But what about the rest? How would you not pay taxes if you get a regular pay check? I've never had the option of *not* having my taxes automatically pulled from the paycheck, it just happens like magic.
Post edited by Unknown User on

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  • You could claim up to 9 on your W-4 which would minimize taxes being withheld and then either not file or not pay. Not a great idea though.
  • people in another thread are discussing how, by paying your taxes, you are ok'ing the war. That issue aside, if one were to choose not to pay taxes, how is that possible? I can see if maybe you own your own business or at the end of the year you owe money and never pay it. But what about the rest? How would you not pay taxes if you get a regular pay check? I've never had the option of *not* having my taxes automatically pulled from the paycheck, it just happens like magic.

    You can't.
    And that's the point.

    Like Elliot said, you could claim erroneous deductions, but then you have commited tax fraud, purged yourself, and are in danger of being found guilty of such in a court of law.

    This is actualy the very reason they DO take your taxes out for you.

    The letter of the law does NOT hold you liable to pay taxes, thus the decision to pay would normaly be a voluntary one ... meaning you would NOT have to pay taxes if you so decided.

    However, because they already take your taxes out for you, the only "legal" recourse you have to reclaim them -- since once you have signed your witholding papers (which most employers will force you to sign) you have already made YOURSELF liable -- is to lie about your deductions.

    Catch 22, anyone?

    :rolleyes:
    If I was to smile and I held out my hand
    If I opened it now would you not understand?
  • redsdiseaseredsdisease Posts: 147
    There are a lot of people who practice tax resistance and, like anything else, there are different levels of tax resistance.

    This a pretty good starting point for anybody who's interested:
    http://www.alternet.org/story/15593/
    Jimmy Carter has disco fever.
  • You could claim up to 9 on your W-4 which would minimize taxes being withheld and then either not file or not pay. Not a great idea though.

    haha well I'm not planning on doing it, I was just wondering how it worked.
  • JOEJOEJOEJOEJOEJOE Posts: 10,619
    people in another thread are discussing how, by paying your taxes, you are ok'ing the war. That issue aside, if one were to choose not to pay taxes, how is that possible? I can see if maybe you own your own business or at the end of the year you owe money and never pay it. But what about the rest? How would you not pay taxes if you get a regular pay check? I've never had the option of *not* having my taxes automatically pulled from the paycheck, it just happens like magic.

    Not paying your taxes when they are due is merely a short-term way of not paying taxes. The IRS will always come after you, and they have the power to garnish wages, levy your bank account and place liens on your property. Also, they charge interest and penalties on unpaid taxes.

    So, even though it sucks to "fund" the war, not paying your taxes will eventually turn into a nightmare.

    I know that in the past, legit people have challenged the legality of income tax, but now, it seems as if everyone who tries is a real wacko. However, thank G-d that we live in a country where a wacko can speak out!
  • KosmicJelliKosmicJelli Posts: 1,855
    nothing is certain in life but death and taxes...
  • scpjfanscpjfan Posts: 131
    Come on people, do you think 100% of your taxes go to the war? Your taxes do a lot of good and keep the country running. Granted, there are some things that make us all shake our head (i.e. Iraq), but that's the price we pay for living in this type of state. If you don't want to fund the war, move!!!
    Hail, hail the lucky ones, I refer to those in love.
  • know1know1 Posts: 6,794
    I didn't see that thread, but I've said for a long time that our tax money goes to a lot of things that we as individuals may morally oppose.
    The only people we should try to get even with...
    ...are those who've helped us.

    Right 'round the corner could be bigger than ourselves.
  • scpjfan wrote:
    Come on people, do you think 100% of your taxes go to the war?

    No.
    But half of it sure does.

    I can also tell you where most of the other half goes, and none of it does the country much of a lick of good.

    :(
    If I was to smile and I held out my hand
    If I opened it now would you not understand?
  • scpjfanscpjfan Posts: 131
    No.
    But half of it sure does.

    I can also tell you where most of the other half goes, and none of it does the country much of a lick of good.

    :(


    No, actually half goes to military funding.

    I find it hard to believe that 100% of military funding goes directly to the Iraq war.
    Hail, hail the lucky ones, I refer to those in love.
  • scpjfan wrote:
    No, actually half goes to military funding.

    I find it hard to believe that 100% of military funding goes directly to the Iraq war.

    Fair enough.
    Well played.
    ;)
    If I was to smile and I held out my hand
    If I opened it now would you not understand?
  • Kel VarnsenKel Varnsen Posts: 1,952
    It is not like the US government is going to stop paying for a war if a few people don't pay taxes. I mean it is not like they are running a balanced budget to begin with. If there is a little less revenue from taxes that just means they borrow even more money.
  • It is not like the US government is going to stop paying for a war if a few people don't pay taxes. I mean it is not like they are running a balanced budget to begin with. If there is a little less revenue from taxes that just means they borrow even more money.

    Yuhp.
    :(
    If I was to smile and I held out my hand
    If I opened it now would you not understand?
  • scpjfanscpjfan Posts: 131
    Fair enough.
    Well played.
    ;)

    However, I totally agree with you that it is a waste of money.

    There was an interesting article in the Globe and Mail on the weekend about how Afghanistan is turning into quite its own disaster. It would have been nice to see the US spend a little more time in there, considering that is where 9/11 was born.
    Hail, hail the lucky ones, I refer to those in love.
  • scpjfan wrote:
    However, I totally agree with you that it is a waste of money.

    There was an interesting article in the Globe and Mail on the weekend about how Afghanistan is turning into quite its own disaster. It would have been nice to see the US spend a little more time in there, considering that is where 9/11 was born.


    Well. I agree with that.

    Except i would say the US should have been looking at Saudi Arabia a bit more than Afghanistan, considering 16 of the 19 alleged hijackers were from SA.

    But you know we love the fukin' saudis.

    :rolleyes:
    If I was to smile and I held out my hand
    If I opened it now would you not understand?
  • scpjfanscpjfan Posts: 131
    Well. I agree with that.

    Except i would say the US should have been looking at Saudi Arabia a bit more than Afghanistan, considering 16 of the 19 alleged hijackers were from SA.

    But you know we love the fukin' saudis.

    :rolleyes:

    No kidding.

    Who knows how far back this mess goes. It's quite sad.
    Hail, hail the lucky ones, I refer to those in love.
  • redsdiseaseredsdisease Posts: 147
    JOEJOEJOE wrote:
    Not paying your taxes when they are due is merely a short-term way of not paying taxes. The IRS will always come after you, and they have the power to garnish wages, levy your bank account and place liens on your property. Also, they charge interest and penalties on unpaid taxes.

    So, even though it sucks to "fund" the war, not paying your taxes will eventually turn into a nightmare.

    I know that in the past, legit people have challenged the legality of income tax, but now, it seems as if everyone who tries is a real wacko. However, thank G-d that we live in a country where a wacko can speak out!
    I know people who do tax resistance, and their not "wackos."
    Jimmy Carter has disco fever.
  • I know people who do tax resistance, and their not "wackos."

    Yeah, he should clarify that by "everyone who tries IS a real wacko", what he means is "everyone who tries IS PORTRAYED IN THE MEDIA AS a wacko, and i believe it because i get all my information from the television, which only tells me the truth, because the corporate masters love me and want me to be happy. Oh, and pay taxes."

    :rolleyes:

    The people I know of in the tax movement are very intelligent and learned people who know what the fucking government has been up to for the last 100 years and they fucking hate it.

    They aren't crazy.
    But you are if you buy in to the government's bullshit.
    If I was to smile and I held out my hand
    If I opened it now would you not understand?
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