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Comment by mdb31 | Hacker News Reader

Yes, but WHY?

I mean, I'm happy to pay my US taxes. Heck, I'm even happy to pay someone to pay my US taxes. But... neither of those options seem to work?

I mean, just to back to Rwanda: it's an east-African country that is pretty much a dictatorship and had a real-life genocide less than 20 years ago.

Yet, in Rwanda, I can just use my native cell phone number as my tax identifier, pay then what I need to pay, and be done with it.

In the US, I am probably known under a dozen ITINs, and literally none of that is my fault: it's just that the IRS agents that created those ITINs were unaware of, like, any spelling alphabet ever. Even ITINs created using a fax (that's a TIFF-over-POTS, for you millennials) got completely misspelled.

And now I'm supposed to spend tens of thousands of dollars to prove I've paid my taxes?

OK, now I now the answer to my initial question...

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There are some groups who oppose effectively all taxes and seek to make paying tax as hard as possible so that other people will agree with them that taxes are a pain. For example see Americans for Tax Reform working to torpedo California’s push to simplify state taxes a few years back.

You also have corporate interests that profit from convoluted tax filing and lobby the government to keep it confusing so individuals continue to use their products.

OK, I understand that some/many Americans dislike paying taxes. I do not exactly like it either.

But, it seem like a particular US infliction to make paying taxes as hard as possible? Plus, they sanction you in extreme ways if you don't manage to jump through all the hoops?

I pay taxes in many jurisdictions. Here is my experience: Netherlands (my home country): the tax authorities send me a proposal about payable taxes. This includes income from my business, my partner's job, our common investments, and some investments/business interests that are exclusive to me. I correct whatever is required (with the deadline being April 1st), and I'll get my final settlement sometime in June/July.

Germany/France: I provide the tax authorities with my Dutch tax identification number, and they confirm they're fine with that in 3-4 months time. Rwanda, Nigeria and Zimbabwe: I also provide my native tax details (sometimes using my mobile number, sometimes using my NL 'SSN'), and they're fine with that, sometimes after billing me a small percentage over some income.

US: I honestly have non idea where I stand. The IRS refuses to talk to me, yet summons me to physical meetings in the past that I cannot legally attend. I have hired several attorneys, none of which seem to be able to help.

I probably owe several HUNDREDS of dollars in US tax. I've not visited the US since 2004, and have not done any business there since 2002.

Yet... I'm apparently a much-wanted tax fugitive in the US. Does that count on a FAANG-inbound resume?

Is it possible to sue for conspiring to make life purposely difficult? For example if I interfere with someone's lawful use / enjoinment of their property it is a low level criminal offence. Should not that be the same for making / conspiring the life difficult for the purpose of extorting money?

At this point the IRS is completely confusing as to understanding whether they've received things. I've seen a non-profit where the IRS was sending them a request for what the letter said was an unfiled annual return, while at the same time, the IRS had the processed annual return they were requesting publicly available on their own website. This is without identifying number confusion. I can't imagine what it would be like with that.

I have to assume that they have some serious database problems that they are completely unable to handle, likely because of staffing and budget cuts that appear to have been intended to cripple them.

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