Life before 2008 20 Jul 2007 09:58 am
If Ron Paul can save us of this….then let’s make him President.
Who here fears the IRS? Who feels like they are a force that can not be fought, that must be obeyed, lest they ruin you? Who’s ever been mad at the tax rate, knowing how unfair it is and felt that burden on their back?
I am the child of self-employed parents, people who’ve been audited by hateful IRS agents, people who pay quarterly and feel deeply the scurge taxes can be. Somehow, Americans continue to start businesses and seek success even as the tax structure has been developed to discourage and defeat these businesses in their infancy. Like the flag at Iwo Jima, they persist in sailing anyway. And often people who ARE this way, raise children with a “can do” spirit, who know the adage, “you don’t work, you don’t eat” very, very well and when money is tight, will see what resources they have to put together their own business start up. At the very least, if they aren’t self-employed themselves, they are industrious and creative.
And so we in our family have had a string of started-businesses that didn’t quite make it off the ground. The year came when we moved out of state, into a two bedroom apartment, to simplify our lives, get out of debt, and start fresh. The year was 2005 and we had four surviving children. Life was tight. That year we were NOT self-employed but WERE industrious. Income sources: David worked the first half of the year at his old job; the second half in sales that cheated him out of his commission and UPS (often two shifts); I worked as a commissioned painter. We had $15k worth of consumer debt to pay off, stopped retirement contributions, stopped charitable giving and had $1600 in moving expenses. Combined gross income: 35,926. I did the taxes with TAX ACT online; everything was a W2 and it was very straight-forward and easy.
When you support a family of 6 and you get a tax return, you use every penney of it; you don’t save it for two years wondering if somewhere there was a mistake. Our return that year was $3500, nearly the same as every single year for the past 10; there was utterly no reason to question it.
And so today….I went to the mailbox and pulled from it a very large, thick, white envelope. Well sealed with scotch tape; nothing mass-produced looking about it. I knew in an instant that these were papers that had been hand assembled on someone’s desk, taped with a roll from the dispenser on the corner, in a room full of cubicles and computers. I was already shaking in fear….all the while thinking that fear was irrational; we have done nothing wrong! Such is the power is mail coorespondance from the IRS.
The verdict? We owe $2500. Some of that is INTEREST that they have applied since the day of the supposed “mistake”. They say we were self-employed. They say we made more than origionally thought. They say we also owe the “self-employment tax” in addition to having more taxable income. They say there is some kind of adjustment to our child tax credit and also our retirement tax. At some point, quite early on, it starts to sound like jargon that blurs the mind.
Am I in debt again for money I did not borrow? Do I have to HIRE an accountant to sort this out, to prove we didn’t lie or misrepresent our income? Should we not have worked 3 additional jobs and taken government welfare instead to pay less in taxes? This year I AM self-employed. If the paper work in my hand is to believed, I have made enough so far to have to pay the self-employment tax and not enough to cover it. I am, debt free or not, not working for myself, but for the government.
This is utter lunacy. I scarcely know where to start. I am so sick of government officials standing pompous in their business suits, red faced and arrogantly deciding where to send this billion and that billion… while my life is so much closer to the margin: what are we eating this week? How can I save another $10 on my water or electric bill? Can I go to church today (can I afford the gas to drive there)? We are working our asses off for goals we beleive in, to be responsible, to owe no man…and departments like the IRS, the government, and all the ways they can come up with to make us fund their folly are smearing our faces back into the mud from which we rise.
Forget toes in the water of politics. I’m diving in. We’ve had enough. Ron Paul, you have my vote, my attention, and my vocal power: may it take you all the way to the top.
on 20 Jul 2007 at 3:30 pm 1.anita said …
Good luck with your IRS fight. I know how you feel. We are self-employed. We were audited three years in a row. An IRS agent called my husband a liar. My husband threw him out of his office and told him NEVER to set foot there again. In the end, we won. But it was a long and costly battle. My daughter is now going thru the same thing as you. The IRS says she made twice as much money a couple years back, as she actually made, and no matter that my daughter tells them they’re wrong. They don’t care. They just want more money.
on 20 Jul 2007 at 3:38 pm 2.themonkeyparade said …
Such is the power of the IRS that I am almost afraid to comment.
Now really, what does that say about our government?
My very favorite section of the SE tax code? (please hear the intended sarcasm)
“For Estimated tax purposes, the year is divided into four payment periods. Each period has a specific payment due date. If you do not pay enough tax by the due date of each of the payment periods, you may be charged a penalty even if you are due a refund when you file your income tax return.”
on 20 Jul 2007 at 4:15 pm 3.gina said …
That’s a major bummer! I’m wondering though if they are considering that since you were a comissioned painter, that you were indeed self employed? I have only a little knowledge of how the self-employment rules work in that you would maybe have to submit a 1099 for your earnings? I don’t know though, your situation is different than mine. I worked for three years “self employed” through Partylite. I submitted a 1099 each year. Our custodian at church has her own cleaning business- so we give her a 1099. Maybe all you have to do is file an amended return- don’t get too ruffled yet- maybe it will be an easy solution;-)
on 20 Jul 2007 at 4:17 pm 4.Tia said …
My painting work was filed with a W2 and Mom (my employer) took out all the necessary taxes.
The Red Hen is Ruffled…oh yeah…she’s ruffled ;-).
on 20 Jul 2007 at 8:41 pm 5.gina said …
Oh man,then there just has to be a mistake- I’ll be praying for this situation and for your ruffled feathers:-)
on 21 Jul 2007 at 11:14 am 6.Wesley said …
I’ve been through the hell of the IRS myself, and even testified in the Irwin Schiff case..Uh..I mean was prevented from testifying in the Irwin Schiff case. This lying constitutional fraud ass judge, instructed all of Irwin’s witnesses for his defense to only testified to Irwin’s character in the community. The judge did not want us to testify rather Irwin was guilty or not. Well, we all said he was a good guy in the community- I guess with that testimpony he should have been found not guilty-right? As you all know he was convicted even though there is no law that makes him liable for the payment of income taxes.
If you people ever get on the jury in a tax case, don’t convict an innocent man. Only convict if the judge can point to a law that exist. If they Hem-and Haw, FIND THE MAN NOT GUILTY! FACT IS: THERE IS NO LAW.
NOW, how do you get out of this con-mans game of taxes. I started my own homebased business for less than $500.00 and I take advantageous of the tax con-mans game. I play their game and I win. By playing their game to my advantage, the IRS now owes me over$9,000 simply because I started a home base business and I deduct everything I am entitled to deduct in this corrupt AND NON-CONSTITUTIONAL IRS SYSTEM.
Do what I do and win.
Go to my website http://www.travelwesley.com and click on the company presentation. If you want to win, call me and I will show you how to get started.
This is not an advertisement for business, I just want to relieve a lot of the IRS pressure from you and show you how to play thier game and win. Its all leagal my friend. There are two types of tax payers in the country: The informed and the uninformed. I want you to be informed.
We all know that their is no law that makes you liable for the payment of income taxes, the government knows this too, but they have to keep this Ponzi scheme going or their well will dry-up and they will run out of money to bomb other innocent countries.
So get with the program and go to http://www.travelwesley.com and lets get on the road to financial freedom.
on 15 Aug 2007 at 7:02 pm 7.Living Deliberately » Freedom of Speech said …
[…] If He Can Save Us From This…. […]
on 29 Aug 2007 at 4:59 pm 8.Sixgunsue said …
We Lost a hero this month.
Arron Russo died of kidney cancer I believe.
He is the brave soul responsible the film “America”, Freedom to Fascism.
I knew something was wrong in our country for a long time, but this film shook me up like nobody’s business. I got educated and also found out who Ron Paul is. I saw this film a yr ago and when I saw Ron Paul was running I recognized him from the film.I got pretty choked up. If he wins, I fear for his safety.
But he is waking a lot more people up. My family is putting a huge sign in our CT, front yard that says:
Connecticut is the CONSTITUTION state,
PLEASE support our CONSTITUTION and VOTE RON PAUL!!
I’m one of those crunchy conservative types. So glad I found your site. YOU ROCK!!!
on 29 Aug 2007 at 5:01 pm 9.Sixgunsue said …
P.S. We will pray for a speedy end to your IRS woes and a speedy end for to IRS for that matter!
on 29 Aug 2007 at 5:02 pm 10.Sixgunsue said …
I meant the IRS too! Been up since 2:am!