Will the oil spill help Obama close the tax gap?
Here’s Louis Sahagun writing for Tribune Newspapers:
BP’s request for tax records poses a problem for some residents of fishing communities in southeastern Louisiana — the nonconformists who haven’t kept records or reported their cash income.
The first step for a commercial fisherman or coastal business seeking compensation for losses suffered in the oil spill seems simple enough: Submit copies of a commercial fishing license, proof of residence and tax statements.But the request for tax records poses a serious challenge to some residents of close-knit fishing communities on the swampy edges of southeastern Louisiana, which for generations have harbored self-reliant nonconformists who don’t pay much heed to everyday rules and regulations.¹In other words, they often get paid in cash — and don’t always report it.“I worked for an uncle last year who paid me in cash,” said a crab fisherman who asked to remain anonymous. “The BP guy wanted my tax statements, but how can I pay taxes if everything I earned was in cash?”Many people involved in the seasonal harvesting of shrimp, crabs, oysters and fish — boat washers, fishermen, crab cookers, deckhands, dockworkers — said they felt caught by a pincer of environmental devastation and an assistance program that could expose them to the tax man.
There are millions of U.S. residents who don’t believe they have to pay taxes on their cash income. Much to the chagrin of the Soak the Rich Society, the overwhelming majority of them are not rich.
Isn’t it ironic that those who intentionally fail to pay federal income tax are the ones screaming the loudest because the federal government hasn’t done enough to stop the oil spill?
Footnotes:
¹ So that’s what we call tax cheats these days? Self-reliant nonconformists. Good God! If these were Wall Street tax scofflaws, do you think for a second Mr. Sahagun would have described them this way?
Related Posts:
- Nearly 50% of Households Pay no Federal Income Tax
- IRS Rarely Audits the Poor
- IRS to Pursue Tax Cheats Hard
5 responses so far ↓
1 LawStudent // May 30, 2010 at 11:49 am
Good point. I think everyone who votes should be a taxpayer and have a vested interest in laws that encourage productive creative people.
2 Peter // May 30, 2010 at 9:08 pm
LawStudent,
Unfortunately, our laws often do the opposite – they encourage indolence and scapegoating.
3 cc1 // May 30, 2010 at 10:32 pm
“Isn’t it ironic that those who intentionally fail to pay federal income tax are the ones screaming the loudest because the federal government hasn’t done enough to stop the oil spill?”
–Too bad, Peter, that we aren’t a republic anymore instead of a mass democracy. In a republic, what little voting that occurred would only be done by landowners who at least have some interest in not allowing the mob to expropriate them. The 17th Amendment was yet another “progressive” leap backwards.
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