Who’s Smarter, Hollywood Types or Bush and Cabinet?

Conspicuous Consumption

I have always been fascinated with all aspects of how people deal with money; how they get it, how they invest it, how they spend it, and so on.  From a purely academic perspective, how criminals handle money is interesting.  I have mentioned how humorous I find it when people spend more time and energy to illegally make money than it would take to earn similar amounts via legal means.

Since a well established method of finding things is to follow the money, a wise criminal (oxymoron?) knows not to make too big a scene with a newly acquired windfall of cash so as to avoid attracting undue attention.  I found this story amusing of a bank robber who laid low and waited a year before going on a wild spending spree, as if all memory of the robbery would have disappeared by then.  

KMK

IRS Steps Up Audits on High-Income People

Tax Scams Proliferate As April 15 Nears

Tax Stats

Tax geeks should be interested in the latest statistics from IRS, covering the period from October 1, 2001 through September 30, 2002.   You can download the entire 64 page pdf report or visit this page to access individual reports in Excel format.

Can’t Pay Your Taxes?

Tips For Delaying Payment

Nominee to Head IRS Vows to Strengthen Enforcement

We’ll have to wait and see what this will mean in the real world.

Tax Cheats Under Fire

It looks like tax scammer Irwin Schiff and many of his gullible followers are looking at more prison time for using his idiotic argument that taxes are voluntary.  As I’ve always explained when people ask me about Schiff and this ridiculous line of reasoning, that is only half of the equation.

It’s not a choice between filing tax returns or not, as Schiff claims.  People are allowed to voluntarily calculate and pay their taxes or else the IRS will do it for them.  As always, when IRS calculates one’s taxes, they do it in such a way as to show the highest amount due as possible, with no deductions or exemptions. 

I have absolutely no sympathy for idiots who buy Schiff’s books and attend his seminars and use his oft-debunked theories to cheat on their tax obligations.  I guess I could possibly understand following the lead of someone who has come up with a tax avoidance scheme and gotten away with it.  However, following the advice of someone who has spent several years in prison for his strategies is idiocy piled on top of stupidity. 

KMK

Some helpful articles from Jeff Schnepper:

Deduct it: Odds against an audit are good

Don’t panic if the IRS sends you a letter

Married? The right filing status could save you money

Let the IRS share your loss from disaster or theft

Financial Tips for Our Military Personnel