Timeline for As a US citizen, what law requires me to pay income tax?
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
21 events
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| Dec 20, 2017 at 17:47 | comment | added | bendl | law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/1 for those looking for a link | |
| Oct 21, 2017 at 9:11 | comment | added | rxantos | Can a private institution demand money in the basis of not doing a service for you but if you do not comply they will kidnap you and place you in a cage? If not, then is extortion. If yes, then government ceased to be legitimate. Lawful or not, the guy with the funny toga will decide. This country ceased to be a country of law in 1913. | |
| Oct 22, 2015 at 20:27 | comment | added | Cort Ammon | @phoog Ouch. I never knew about that one. | |
| Oct 22, 2015 at 20:07 | comment | added | phoog | @CortAmmon the US Congress thought of that, too: irs.gov/Individuals/International-Taxpayers/Expatriation-Tax | |
| Oct 20, 2015 at 15:40 | comment | added | Cort Ammon | @phoog I wasn't thinking of tax liabilities you have, but more tax liabilities you would have in the future if you did not change citizenships. | |
| Oct 20, 2015 at 8:21 | comment | added | phoog | @CortAmmon the US has laws that prevent you from escaping tax liability byrenouncing your citizenship. That is, you remain liable. So you need to find a country that won't tax you and also won't let the US authorities a come after you. | |
| Oct 19, 2015 at 13:51 | comment | added | cpast | @user Tax Court has no juries for anything, but they can't bring a criminal case there. | |
| Oct 19, 2015 at 13:26 | comment | added | psmears | @barbecue: Ah yes, you're right, I missed the "instead" - the renunciation bit is important; in most other cases dual citizenship is possible (and indeed works for the stated purpose), but the US still likes to tax people in that case :) | |
| Oct 19, 2015 at 12:40 | comment | added | user662852 | @jcarpenter Since you have the right to vote for the legislature which passes the laws enabling the regulator (the IRS) to write and enforce regulations; and should have the right to at least one jury trial (though I would be interested if the Tax Court has non jury administrative proceedings with zero opportunity to have a jury trial) requiring the vote of your peers before the imposition of imprisonment, its not extortion. | |
| Oct 19, 2015 at 12:14 | history | edited | gracey209 | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
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| Oct 19, 2015 at 11:56 | comment | added | barbecue | @psmears Cort Ammon was talking about changing citizenship, not just relocating. | |
| Oct 19, 2015 at 9:21 | comment | added | psmears | @CortAmmon: Unfortunately, in the case of the US (unlike most other countries), moving abroad doesn't necessarily excuse you from paying US tax on your (foreign-earned) income... | |
| Oct 19, 2015 at 6:57 | comment | added | Cort Ammon | Instead of thinking of it as extortion, being mandatory and enforced, just remember that it is not actually manditory, and only past-dues are enforced. You are always free to move to another country and declare yourself a member of that country instead. The state wont stop you, and you can get out of your taxes that way! (of course, you'll have to find a country that doesn't charge you taxes... and you want to live in it) | |
| Oct 19, 2015 at 5:00 | comment | added | David Schwartz | It wouldn't even be extortion if done by a private individual. A private individual can absolutely say "if you don't pay me the amount that you are required to pay me under the law, I will use the courts to get it and if a court agrees that you broke the law, you will be punished as the law requires". | |
| Oct 18, 2015 at 21:28 | comment | added | Zach Lipton | Then is it also extortion if a judge says "pay a $100 fine or go to jail?" It's fine if you want to call it extortion as a practical matter, but being required to pay your taxes does not constitute the crime of extortion. Laws, if not complied with voluntarily, are generally enforced with state sanctioned coercion. | |
| Oct 18, 2015 at 20:24 | comment | added | cpast | It's extortion in the same sense that arresting someone is kidnapping -- it would be if done by someone else, but part of what makes a government a government is that it can do this. Incidentally, the specific general section making it a crime to not pay is section 7203. | |
| Oct 18, 2015 at 20:19 | comment | added | gracey209 | You could look at it that way. But, without the "extortion", there'd be no government structure, no military, no public schools, no help for the poor, on a local level, no police, no fire department when your house is burning down, no FBI if your child get grabbed, and so on... | |
| Oct 18, 2015 at 20:18 | comment | added | jcarpenter2 | Sounds like extortion to me ;) | |
| Oct 18, 2015 at 20:14 | comment | added | gracey209 | Well, what would be extortion if done by a private individual is not nearly the same when applied to the citizens of a nation state by its government, through laws enacted by its legislative body, the constitutionality of which is affirmed by its judicial branch. | |
| Oct 18, 2015 at 20:00 | comment | added | jcarpenter2 | Thanks; I'm reading through, and I have to agree with you. A tax is imposed on my gross income, which includes the money I make for services I provide. But if a tax is mandatory and enforced, wouldn't that be extortion? Or am I misunderstanding something? | |
| Oct 18, 2015 at 19:31 | history | answered | gracey209 | CC BY-SA 3.0 |