Opening Pandora’s box image from wikimedia commons

One significant finding in the report was that many of the wealthiest in the U.S. often do not have offshore accounts because they already have enough legal ways to enable them to avoid paying taxes. So while many foreign heads of state faced pressure from their constituents, people in the U.S. did not seem fazed by the tax loopholes for the elite as evidenced in the widespread disclosures of former president Trump’s taxes. In one of the few years he paid taxes, 2016, Trump had a tax liability of $750, a fraction of what millions of people actually working in the U.S. pay per year. Another significant finding was that some of the largest beneficiaries of these modern regulations have been the narcotraffickers, arms dealers, oligarchs, and those now involved in cryptocurrency.

In the article, “The Pandora Papers Expose the Secret Financial Dealings of the Global Elite, author Greg Miller stated, “In the South Dakota case, it’s an instance where financial lobbyists, trust companies, and administrators found receptive members of Congress in South Dakota – receptive government officials – and over time kept proposing new laws that would make South Dakota more and more secretive, more and more attractive to foreign individuals who wanted to put money into trusts where their ownership of assets would not be revealed, would be hidden, where they could move money away from heavier tax jurisdictions overseas. And lo and behold, you end up with an offshore haven onshore in the United States in Sioux Falls.”

One of the beneficiaries of this system that went “off shore” himself and with his company was Eric Prince and Blackwater. The Intercept provides a recap of his recent endeavors: “Prince, the founder of Blackwater, is the brother of Trump Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and was one of the former president’s most ardent supporters. The scion of a wealthy and politically connected family, Prince has courted controversy since the war in Iraq, when Blackwater won major contracts to support the U.S. occupation. Blackwater was banned from Iraq in 2007 following the Nisour Square massacre, in which its contractors killed 17 Iraqis and wounded 20 more. Prince later sold Blackwater and moved to the UAE, where he built a secret mercenary force for the de facto ruler of the federation of seven Arab Gulf states, Mohammed bin Zayed, known as MBZ.”

It was recently revealed that the U.S., Israel, the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.), and Bahrain were conducting “war games” for the first time at the Red Sea. It was the first time that these countries came together. It was the first time that the latter countries acknowledged the state of Israel and allowed Israel to purchase weapon systems from the U.S. with little scrutiny. It was suggested that the alliance between the nations was created in the likes of the NATO with its justification as “threats” from Iran.

The wealthy elite profit the most from conflicts while those with little pay the most in terms of their resources and their lives. The Pandora Papers name the elites who have avoided paying taxes by establishing untraceable trusts in South Dakota. What was clearly confirmed from the papers was that there is a two-tiered system that stretches world wide. One group profits while the other group pays. Fortunately, others are discovering that they do not have to pay for the destruction of the world as dictated by the U.S. military. The other day, a statement was spreading on the internet that read, “Decided that I will no longer be paying taxes. What are they gonna do, tax me more? Go ahead, I won’t pay those either. Oh, I’m going to prison? The one paid for with my tax dollars? Sorry, Didn’t pay em. Now, there is no prison. I am at least 3 steps ahead of the government at all times.” I hope that message gets out of the box and goes viral.

The post Unpacking Pandora’s Box: The Tax Gift That Keeps On Giving first appeared on National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee.

The post Unpacking Pandora’s Box: The Tax Gift That Keeps On Giving appeared first on National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee.

One meeting —in person! — was about whether or not to catch up on filing state taxes. This resister has been a federal and state nonfiler with a low income for a few years. Now, due to changes in her employment and the fact that the IRS filed for her one year and is trying to collect, she feels it is time to catch up with the feds. She only owes Social Security/Medicare taxes for reported self-employment income, which she might decide to pay. But the state has not been after her at all, and her test filing showed that she didn’t have a taxable income and may even be owed a refund. New York State tends to be pretty efficient about going after state tax debt and pretty nasty about the whole process, but in this case there didn’t seem to be a need to file until she starts her new job.

In the course of our conversation I was reminded that it is useful to be able to talk openly about income, share tax forms and discuss them line-by-line. She used an online state tax preparation software, and I’ve been a dedicated paper-filer, but by not using the online option for state filing I had missed one credit I could have taken advantage of. It is a credit that is not obvious on the paper forms. So next year I will use the online version to make sure I’m not missing anything and then transfer the numbers to paper to file. I don’t want to get into online payments for taxes, which just gives the government — state or federal — a direct line to your bank account.

Scary Collection Letters

I was happy to get a call from a first-time resister. She and I had talked about state taxes months ago. (My focus has always been on the massive federal military budget, so I remain neutral on state tax resistance except that I always warn potential resisters that the NY state is much quicker to collect than the feds.) But this conversation was about her first collection letter from the IRS for federal taxes she refused after filing on May 17 this year. That’s pretty quick work for the IRS these days, so we discussed her employment situation (contractor) and the various things that might happen, the most certain being more letters from the IRS.

Erica Leigh wrote a good blog about letters a few years ago. If others have more recent links, please share them in the comments.

Finally, another friend sent an “oh oh they’re coming” email with a copy of a notice she received that shouts “Levy of Social Security Benefits is Imminent.” This scary-looking mailing from the “Tax Assessment Procedures Domestic Judgment Registry” (with an intriguing logo that I can’t quite make out) threatens that “the Federal Taxing Authorities can legally initiate the collection process of levying your Social Security Benefits and or any other retirement accounts.”  This so-called “Federal Taxing Authorities” cannot legally take anything. Only the IRS can do that. In fact, this very notice borders on illegal. It is a scam, one of many that the IRS is continually fighting.

When you receive letters that threaten collection but don’t actually look like an IRS letter, do a simple search online. In this case, if you type in “tax assessment procedures” the search engine automatically adds the word “scam.” A lawyer has a similar sample letter on his site with a good write-up about the scam. Do a search on the phone number in the letter; that also indicates it’s probably a scam.

Then I typed in “letter from federal taxing authorities,” which brought up a link to an IRS webpage titled “Taxpayers should beware of property lien scam.” The text of my friend’s letter indicates that whoever is behind it found her name in her county’s public lien postings.

There’s often a moment of catching one’s breath when an envelope arrives from the IRS (or even from one of the fake “taxing authorities”), so it’s helpful to remember “the IRS operates on 90% bluff” according to former Sen. Henry Belmon decades ago. Of course, we do need to stay prepared for that 10%. Having a support network in place is part of that preparation.

— Post by Ruth Benn

The post Taxing Issues first appeared on National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee.

The post Taxing Issues appeared first on National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee.

It seems that the US government has passed the buck in its most basic responsibility to protect its citizens.  The federal government missed the opportunity to prepare for and purchase equipment at the beginning of the pandemic.  By trying to save money and downplay the severity of the crisis, they missed a crucial opportunity.  Later they stated that it was the states’ responsibility to purchase the items. Finally, they resorted to their tried and true catch all phrase used to justify not providing the most basic of human needs- that we just don’t have the resources. 

The same weapons platforms that have bombed civilians across the world were sent to fly over hospitals in the US that cannot even provide health care workers with masks that should cost $1.27.  The most expensive bomber was the nuclear weapons capable B2 Stealth Bomber flying out of Whiteman Air Force base in Missouri at $122,311.00 per hour (in 2017 estimates.)  It seems that no area of the US has been spared these displays of affection with many of the targeted cities roped together just as would be the case with a nuclear bomb or a flying mission to destroy multiple targets.  A senior US military official speaking on the condition of anonymity told the Washington Post “This is just a sincere thank-you. It’s one way to acknowledge those pitching in.”

While the military had stated in their press release that they wanted “to thank first responders,essential personnel, and military service members as we collectively battle the spread of COVID-19” it seems rather insincere to thank themselves; more as a way of justifying that almost half of US taxpayer monies go to warfare. The US military didn’t seem to get the memo or want to acknowledge that UN Ceasefire Defines War As a Non-Essential Activity  In March, UN Secretary General Antonio called for a world wide end of armed conflict during the Covid- 19 pandemic as well as an end to economic warfare. More than 70 nations signed onto the statement.  The United States blocked the vote before the UN. 

Meanwhile the New York Times recently had a piece on homelessness, America’s Cities Could House Everyone If They Chose To. Towards the end it concluded “the nation’s homeless population could be housed for less than the price of one aircraft carrier.” That seems to bear repeating- that for LESS than one military expenditure all of the people living on the streets of the cities that the bomber jets are flying over could have homes. Imagine those 13 billion dollars used to meet basic human needs.

There has been a proposal to replicate the ‘Salute to America’ military parade on July 4th 2020 despite concerns over corona virus. This year that would be before Tax Day. Increasingly, people are becoming more aware of the catastrophic funding priorities in the US and the deadly consequences. 

image from wikimedia

PS It doesn’t seem that this is the first time this tactic has been used.-It was also used during WWI and the pandemic of 1918.

Post by Chrissy Kirchhoefer

The post Grounded…or flying by the seat of our pants? first appeared on National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee.

The post Grounded…or flying by the seat of our pants? appeared first on National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee.

For the first time in her 15 years of resistance, the IRS placed a lien against her property in local county offices last August. Others on the war tax resistance listserve have written about receiving liens in 2019, perhaps signaling some new flurry of “lien-ing” coming out of the IRS. WTR David Gross wrote about his on his Picket Line blog earlier this year. But, don’t freak out! It usually takes some thousands of dollars in debt before liens are issued, and often the worst consequence is the hit on your credit rating. The lien is more problematic if you have property you want to sell.

My partner Ed and I have both had liens issued during our years of resistance, but as we flipped through our friend’s folder a few letters jumped out at us. We had never received notices from the county office at all and no IRS letters with headings like “NOTICE OF WARRANTED LIEN” and “DISTRAINT WARRANT.” She also got one threatening her Social Security benefits, but she has not signed up for Social Security yet.

We found ourselves hung up on “What is a distraint warrant?” I wrote a couple WTR counselors, sending a copy of the letter and was immediately put in my place.

A debt relief mailing from 12 years ago.

“Scam!” they both replied. These mailings are from those “tax debt relief” companies that “will help you with your tax problem.” In the past those companies sent mailings bearing their company name, but now they seem to disguise their advertising to look as much as possible like official government documents. Looking again at my friend’s letters it was obvious that these self-mailers were not from the county offices or the IRS. For one thing, we are in New York, and 5 of the 6 letters came from Los Angeles, the other from Denver. Even more amusing, every one of the 6 letters had a different 800 number on it.

Liens are public notices in your county of residence; a federal tax lien is the government’s legal claim against your property when you neglect or fail to pay a tax debt. Liens are in place through the 10-year statute of limitations or until the debt is settled, whichever comes first. The IRS can re-issue liens after they expire. Because a lien is a public notice, tax collection schemers or scammers use these public lists to contact debtors and drum up business.

I called the number on one of the letters and had a chat with Mike at American Tax Solutions. He asked about my debt. I told him I refused to pay for war, and he said “I don’t blame you.” He’s based in Los Angeles, so when I asked why the letter came from LA when I’m in New York, he indicated his company buys lists from third parties. He was perfectly willing to help resolve my debt for a $2,000 fee.

I think I will follow up with more about this in a future blog, but meanwhile, toss those scam mailings, and read this article before considering using a debt relief company! And, as to “distraint,” it is an old legal term for “the seizure of someone’s property in order to obtain payment of rent or other money owed,” but may be more in use in England than in the U.S.

— Post by Ruth Benn

The post Lien Times: Resisters, Regulations, and Rackets first appeared on National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee.

The post Lien Times: Resisters, Regulations, and Rackets appeared first on National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee.

So, for a first look, here are a few things that come to mind:

If you don’t file, you probably get to ignore the whole thing, at least as far as tax details and forms go, unless you’re a wage employee (see below). You might not ignore the fact that the legislation allows drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and, of course benefits the rich and corporations over everyone else. In addition, the same people who pushed this through now want to go for cuts in Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security — and probably every other human- and earth-positive program — so watch out.

As far as health insurance goes, the media makes it sound like the Affordable Care Act/Obamacare is dead now, but it may be more like  a slow death. The tax bill repeal of the individual mandate, requiring most everyone to have health insurance or pay a penalty, takes effect in 2019. What the bill actually does is zero out the penalty itself — starting in 2019. The penalty still applies for 2017 and 2018 at the same level: $695 per adult or 2.5% of household income in excess of tax filing thresholds, whichever is higher. For the 2017 tax filing season (starting in January), the IRS says they will reject tax returns that do not include health insurance information.

With all the publicity around the repeal, there will be widespread uncertainty about paying any penalties that might be applied. Up to now it seems the IRS has collected any fees owed from the delinquent’s income tax refund, if they had one coming. Other taxpayers have been billed for these amounts if they went unpaid, but we have not heard about the IRS applying enforcement actions stronger than sending letters.

For war tax resisters who file and refuse to pay, the doubling of the standard deduction and the elimination of the personal exemption, plus lowered tax rates, may affect your withholding or estimated tax payments during 2018. In order to be able to resist when you file 2018 taxes in 2019, try to do some rough calculations early in 2018 based on the new standard deduction ($12,000 single; $24,000 married) and the new tax rate (see tables in this useful article and try out one of the online calculators). If you are a salaried employee, the IRS expects to adjust withholding tables in February 2018, so watch the federal tax withholding on your paycheck stub and see if you need to adjust and resubmit your W-4 for the rest of 2018. If you pay estimated taxes but want to have federal income taxes to resist at the end of the year, you may need reduce your payments.

For war tax resisters who itemize and try to bring down their taxable income, you may face more changes. The bill eliminates a lot of those itemized deduction categories on Schedule A, at least at levels that moderate income people have used to their advantage. With the standard deduction at $12,000, your itemized deductions would have to total more than that to be advantageous. This seems to be the major change toward simplifying the income tax system: eliminating deductions and getting more people to take the standard deduction. (There don’t seem to be significant changes to Schedule C.)

So, even though the bill keeps deductions for charitable contributions, retirement savings, and student loan interest, with the standard deduction at $12,000 in 2018, you may no longer find itemizing useful. One article points out that this may hurt smaller nonprofits who receive tax deductible small donations from many people. If taxpayers are not getting their charitable deduction, they may cut back on their giving. (Since NWTRCC is not a 501(c)3, feel free to keep giving to us directly!).

There are a lot more details about the tax changes that we will be learning over time, and there is probably a lot more that I could write about now, but this is getting long so I’ll call it quits for now. Please use the comment section below to correct anything I got wrong, add more information, or ask questions. Remember that we are not tax preparers, but we do try to follow changes that will affect people in the war tax resistance network.

— Post by Ruth Benn

P.S. We will be revising our literature in light of the new law as needed, but please help us by sending an email if you see something outdated or wrong on our website. Thanks.

The post Tax Overhaul – First Look for WTRs first appeared on National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee.

The post Tax Overhaul – First Look for WTRs appeared first on National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee.

A call came recently to a war tax resister in New York from a man who said he was an agent from the “Investigation Bureau of the IRS.” The call sounded suspicious from the start (like from an overseas call center; the man began every sentence with an emphatic “Sir”), and the resister asked what state the man was calling from. When he answered “San Francisco” (the 51st state?), the resister asked what football team plays in San Francisco and the reply was “American or National?”

When said IRS “investigator” was asked what would happen if he did not call that 415 number, he said “you will be arrested.” That is unusual talk for the IRS also, so our resister ended the call.

Another war tax resister reported receiving periodic messages from a company that offers to “reduce your tax debt.” She has never talked to anyone, but hitting the button that is supposed to “take you off the list” seems to have no effect. She noted that tax scam calls can be reported to the government by notifying the Treasury Inspector General at 800-366-4484.

If you are unsure a caller is really the IRS, take their number and try searching it on the internet, or call your local IRS office to ask about the number. The IRS would usually give a toll free number, so that might be one clue.

And if it is the IRS and you wonder what to do, feel free to contact a counselor in our network. Here’s a link to a Forbes Magazine piece on this topic also – with lots of detail and links to earlier articles.

Post by Ruth Benn

The post Watch Out for Tax “Help” Scams first appeared on National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee.

The post Watch Out for Tax “Help” Scams appeared first on National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee.