gunDriller
18th July 2010, 07:28 AM
In 1 year & 5 1/2 months, the IRS will have the alleged right to breathe down your neck like never before.
The 2 taxes that concern me are -
1. Individual Mandate - let's say you don't have health insurance and use a "pay as you go" (cash on the barrelhead) approach to health care. i.e. you live healthy and you avoid doctors. My understanding is that in 2016, they will have a minimum tax penalty of $695 for people who choose to stay out of Obama-care by not paying a monthly extortion premium to a "health insurance" organization. Even if they have no income & are living off savings.
2. The 1099 $600 2012 law. We've talked about this one.
Of course, there's also the FBAR (foreign bank account reporting) rule, which may not apply to G-S.us'ers because most of you are too smart to have foreign bank accounts. This law has existed for a long time; they started enforcing it July 1, 2010 with a $500,000 penalty for not reporting accounts as small as $10,000 - even if you declared the interest income on your 1040.
Long story short - I'm scared of the US government.
Maybe that sounds wimpy, but it's true. They claim the ability to come into your life & seize your possessions virtually at will (IRS agents have considerable discretion over who to audit ... remember Joe Stack). That claim is backed by SWAT teams and other tax agents with guns who have no functional memory of concept of "No Taxation Without Representation."
I can think of a number of approaches to avoiding these assholes -
1. Move from the last known address the IRS has, to either a rented property or a property that you own that is shielded somehow from property records (so your name is not in the property records & they can't find you).
2. Move to a state that has initiated an "anti-Obama-care" provision - e.g. Texas.
3. Leave the country, which obviously leaves a HUGE question - to go to which country, and what are their extradition rules if the IRS decides you owe them some money ? And how do you get your valuable possessions out of the US - besides, "very carefully" ?
4. Just pay the taxes & file the forms.
5. Claim the "Amish" or "Christian Scientist" exemption to Obama-care. I have read some articles about the law that state that an exemption will be granted to certain religions. However, I have a feeling they will require more than your statement on the tax form - or everybody would do it.
6. Don't worry about it, vote against every Democrat that voted for Obama-care in the 2012 election, and make it crystal clear to the resulting Republican majority that their mandate is to repeal Obama-care. Since they won't have the 2/3 majority necessary to over-ride a presidential veto, the one option they do have is to withhold funding for it.
I have a sense that a lot of G-S.us'ers will go the approach of keeping a low profile, which I think is generally a good idea, but certain details become very important - e.g., does the IRS have your home address, and what will you do if they visit you, claiming that you owe them penalties & back taxes ?
The response, "greet them with a wall of lead" has some romantic appeal, but it seems like a "go down swinging" form of suicide. I can't see that it is practical.
In general, the US government seems to have the idea that it is our job to pay for their failures (e.g. their failure to indict the banksters whose fraud caused the credit crisis), and for their Israel-appeasement programs (e.g., War on Terror).
So - how do I keep Uncle Sam out of my life ?
The 2 taxes that concern me are -
1. Individual Mandate - let's say you don't have health insurance and use a "pay as you go" (cash on the barrelhead) approach to health care. i.e. you live healthy and you avoid doctors. My understanding is that in 2016, they will have a minimum tax penalty of $695 for people who choose to stay out of Obama-care by not paying a monthly extortion premium to a "health insurance" organization. Even if they have no income & are living off savings.
2. The 1099 $600 2012 law. We've talked about this one.
Of course, there's also the FBAR (foreign bank account reporting) rule, which may not apply to G-S.us'ers because most of you are too smart to have foreign bank accounts. This law has existed for a long time; they started enforcing it July 1, 2010 with a $500,000 penalty for not reporting accounts as small as $10,000 - even if you declared the interest income on your 1040.
Long story short - I'm scared of the US government.
Maybe that sounds wimpy, but it's true. They claim the ability to come into your life & seize your possessions virtually at will (IRS agents have considerable discretion over who to audit ... remember Joe Stack). That claim is backed by SWAT teams and other tax agents with guns who have no functional memory of concept of "No Taxation Without Representation."
I can think of a number of approaches to avoiding these assholes -
1. Move from the last known address the IRS has, to either a rented property or a property that you own that is shielded somehow from property records (so your name is not in the property records & they can't find you).
2. Move to a state that has initiated an "anti-Obama-care" provision - e.g. Texas.
3. Leave the country, which obviously leaves a HUGE question - to go to which country, and what are their extradition rules if the IRS decides you owe them some money ? And how do you get your valuable possessions out of the US - besides, "very carefully" ?
4. Just pay the taxes & file the forms.
5. Claim the "Amish" or "Christian Scientist" exemption to Obama-care. I have read some articles about the law that state that an exemption will be granted to certain religions. However, I have a feeling they will require more than your statement on the tax form - or everybody would do it.
6. Don't worry about it, vote against every Democrat that voted for Obama-care in the 2012 election, and make it crystal clear to the resulting Republican majority that their mandate is to repeal Obama-care. Since they won't have the 2/3 majority necessary to over-ride a presidential veto, the one option they do have is to withhold funding for it.
I have a sense that a lot of G-S.us'ers will go the approach of keeping a low profile, which I think is generally a good idea, but certain details become very important - e.g., does the IRS have your home address, and what will you do if they visit you, claiming that you owe them penalties & back taxes ?
The response, "greet them with a wall of lead" has some romantic appeal, but it seems like a "go down swinging" form of suicide. I can't see that it is practical.
In general, the US government seems to have the idea that it is our job to pay for their failures (e.g. their failure to indict the banksters whose fraud caused the credit crisis), and for their Israel-appeasement programs (e.g., War on Terror).
So - how do I keep Uncle Sam out of my life ?