My awakening started about 10 years ago. Long story short, I'm now at the point where I am questioning why I've ever paid income taxes.
I left the corporate world in 2019 and I have my own business as does my spouse. We don't have any employees. Last year we got some crazy notice from the IRS saying we made a mistake and owe them $2800 more dollars. A few friends also got some letters like this. I wrote back and they sent me back a letter saying THEY made a mistake, but we still owe the $2800 and now we owe interest on it?!? I am not joking when the letters they send make NO sense and seem like a bunch of jargon and words smashed together to sound official.
Are the rumors true? Are we NOT required to pay income taxes as citizens? Over 15% of my earnings already go to taxes (property tax and everything else we pay day to day). My spouse and I canceled our health insurance over a year ago because we couldn't afford that AND income taxes. I thought we'd have extra money, but we do not with the rising cost of food and gas and well, you know.
If I don't pay will we go to jail? I've never heard of anyone except celebrities having to do this. I am happy to pay taxes that pay for actual healthcare, children, roads, etc. I have no desire to fund weapons or war. I will fund peace no problem. I donate to causes I believe in when I can.
This may be just a rant, but I am pretty much DONE doing things that don't make any sense. I feel like if enough of us refused to pay taxes on our income it could accelerate breaking out of this matrix. However, it does feel like being stuck between a rock and a hard place.
Here is some helpful sauce from first hand experience:
For corporate taxes that IRS is saying you owe:
A. Make sure to use certified mail to send in all payments/filings
B. If they say you owe more, send certified letter back asking about when they received your filings, etc. Just tell them the dates of your postmarks, but do not show copies; And request 1. Maximum reduction due to hardship and 2. Payment plan of maximum length.
C. If they do not reduce amount owed or provide dates of their receipt of your filings, they will likely outsource collection to a private collection agency.
D. As soon as you get collection letter, dispute it in writing via certified letter and show copies of postmarks that you filed on time.
E. If collection agency does not go away, tell them you will settle for 10% of what is claimed; OR you want the amount reduced and a payment plan over 2-3 years.
For personal taxes that IRS is saying you owe:
A. Respond by deadline with certified letter asking them for clarification of the reason for taxes owed and detailed calculation of how they arrived at that number.
B. When you receive their response, break down every aspect of it, and respond with second certified letter pointing out calculation, and/or assumption errors.
C. If they insist, send third certified letter and ask for a "payment plan equivalent in length to Hedge Fund payment plans that owe business taxes to the IRS." (this happens to be 100 years).