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Do I have to pay my taxes?
Dear Tax Talk:
Do you have to pay taxes?
Michael
Dear Michael:
While at first glance your question
seems frivolous, I've been hearing more and more about organizations
that encourage the nonpayment of taxes. These organizations or promoters
will charge you a fee and leave
you hanging.
Any intelligent individual knows that it is their
responsibility to file and pay taxes on income. Without a tax system,
any country would fall apart.
Our tax system is set up in a way that requires you
to pay a variety of taxes.
If you're an employee, you pay payroll taxes; purchase
goods and pay sales tax; own property and pay property taxes; have
income and pay income tax; etc. If you go against these concepts,
you're only going to lose.
The Internal Revenue Service's criminal investigation
unit tracks tax frauds and schemes. Its Web
site lists the reasons they don't work and the consequences.
If you believe you don't have to pay taxes because someone tells
you that they don't, check it out. Remember, if something seems
too good to be true, it probably is.
-- Posted: May 23, 2002
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