Chapter 12

You owe back taxes, why pay?

You’ve most likely seen the plethora of TV commercials promising to save you big bucks if you have a prior tax liability in excess of $10,000.

I don’t know about you but this really ticks me off, at least as much as the big class action law firms that chase down potential clients (or their families) to collect huge amounts for “bad” drugs.

Despite my concerns on how our tax dollars are being spent (or wasted), and they are numerous, I think that we all should be playing on a level playing field when it comes to having to pay.

It seems a whole new industry has sprung up around the ability to negotiate your tax liability with the IRS (and also with some state agencies). I have heard that this occurs in certain less civilized (?) countries, but usually it in a bit more clandestine manner. In the US we do not even attempt to hide this miscarriage of justice!

I’m the first to admit that I take every opportunity to minimize my tax liability. Using our current system there are several legitimate and legal ways to limit your exposure to both federal and state taxes. While I have very serious concerns about our very convoluted approach to income taxation (which will be discussed in a subsequent blog), when people don’t pay what they owe it cheats all of us who play by the rules.