08-24-2022, 04:26 PM
(08-24-2022, 03:12 PM)Belsnickel Wrote: Oh, I have sympathy for those that end up in those positions. I had the IRS come at me for an educational tax credit one time and I survived it because I knew what I was doing. I gave them so much on their pre-audit inquiry that they just gave up.
But not everyone is in that sort of position and I definitely get that. I don't even hold animosity towards those that use legal means to avoid paying taxes as much as possible. Go for it. It used to be my job to find those for my employer. My opinion, though, is that I am all for the government closing those loopholes as much as possible. But still no qualms about people who do those things. As long as you aren't intentionally breaking the law, it's all good.
I used to go to a yearly tax seminar to discuss changes to the field for the upcoming year. I would go to Richmond for two-and-a-half days and sit in a hotel conference room for 10-ish hours on each of those days to hear people talk about the changes to the tax code both federal and state levels. I would come away from that conference with a five-inch binder completely full of just the changes for the year. Not the code itself, just the changes. I can't fault anyone for getting lost in that mess.
I have to make sure it's clear that I specified that unless you don't pay any taxes or have a complicated return, the IRS is not going to bother with you in those lower income groups. Filing with a side business is a complicated return. Your anecdote proves my point.
And my point is that a 1 person 10k a year side business is 100% the littlest of the little guy. They absolutely do and will go after the little guy. And they couldn't care less about crushing them.
So I want to make sure I have this correct. You are saying just a regular lower income person is almost certain to not be bothered by an audit, but that same person makes 5k a year on a side business and reports it wrong and they will come and destroy you. Do I have that correct? But they don't go after the little guy?
A gentle reminder from the kind and caring people at the IRS that if you don't comply they will come and steal everything you have worked for is usually enough for the little guy who can't afford a team of lawyers to pay whatever the IRS says you owe.
