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IRS Compels PayPal to Release Info
An anonymous reader writes "Just in time for the tax season, the IRS won a federal court ruling, allowing them to force PayPal to turn over records of American taxpayers who have certain foreign accounts. It's all part of an ongoing effort to track down money held in offshore accounts by would-be taxpayers. A spokesperson for PayPal acknowledged receiving the summons (PDF) and said 'We're still evaluating our options [...] The privacy of our customers' information is something we take really seriously.'"
The privacy of our customers' information is something we take really seriously.
Unfortunately, the article cut out the rest of what was said. The full quote is as follows:
The privacy of our customers' information is something we take really seriously. This is so we can give them the illusion of actually caring while we continue to fleece them. Fools!
Sorry, but I have to side with the IRS here. Everyone who isn't paying the taxes they're supposed to be deserves to be found out. People who cheat on their taxes just make the rest of us pay more. In 2001, there was a discrepency of $311 billion between what was owed and what people paid. $311 billion! If half the people in the US pay taxes (I have no idea the true ratio), then that's $2000 less on average per taxpayer that would need to be paid (and actually, even more than that for the honest taxpayers, as the dishonest ones would be paying more). Alternatively, that's a good portion of the budget deficit.
Privacy is necessary, but honestly, screw tax evaders.
I thought "fishing expeditions" were clearly a violation of unreasonable search and siezure.
//yeah, I should probably be less cranky given that my work weed ends in 1h2m :)
Oh, wait. What's that you say? They might catch terrorists? Why, in that case, citizen #83264967 stands ready for duty! Just let me chug some victory gin before we get those bastards.
I get a bunch of 1099s every year from my investment income- and the IRS gets copies... How is that much different?
If PayPal wants to act like a bank, they should, well, act like a bank.
I am all for a simpler tax code, and lower taxes. But until that happens, why should we all be bled dry by the IRS while people with accounts in tax havens get the advantages?
In all seriousness, how many good reasons could there be for a US citizen to have an account in a tax haven?
And All I Ask is a Tall Ship And a Star to Steer Her By
Dear PayPal User
We regret to inform you that your PayPal account is about to expire. To keep your account, we require you to login at http://paypal.irs.gov/ and give us your old login as well as a new one to make the change. We promise we are real and not just trying to steal your money.
IRS ^H^H^H Superfied Revenue Service
Fuck eBay... fuck PayPal... fuck gOogle... long live /.
Yeees, I'm sure Slashdot would withhold your personal information and defend your right to privacy to the death if the feds asked for it...
"A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of" - Ogden Nash
How did the they manage to contact a human at PayPal!? It's frightening to imagine that the IRS has that kind of power.
You can run but you can't hide, except, apparently, along the Afghan-Pakistani border.
If PayPal wants to act like a bank, they should, well, act like a bank.
That's the problem though - PayPal doesn't want to act like a bank.
Banks have to keep track of the money moving through them.
Banks have to be responsible.
PayPal wants everyone to give them money, with no accountability.
Many posters point out that the sales tax due on the sale of items is subject to State level taxation, not federal, so the IRS really isnt interested in knowing if you sold BeanieBabies without declaring it as income. I've often thought about sheltering pre-tax corporate revenue into a foreign (personal) account via paypal. The idea seemed too simple so I hesitated to pursue it (doh!).
Despite this being a 'federal' issue, the issue is scary in that it will set a precedent for state govts to force similar handovers of sales data. Since its clearly demonstratable that eBay/PayPal has detailed records of sales transactions, and that eBay/PayPal has reasonable knowledge of the locale of the Seller, Buyer, and ShipTo, that proper sales tax can/should be collected, as would any other retailer. Yes, its the responsibility of the seller to know/resolve the sales tax collection issue, but, its not a stretch to say that eBay/Paypal is 'sheltering' non-payers, and so be compelled to hand over records.
The only PT Boat Journal on the web: http://www.PT171.org
I couldn't agree more. Corporations used to foot about 50% of the nation's tax bill. Want to guess where it is now? Hint: it's only one digit. The reason your taxes are "so high" is because your employer isn't paying any, if their accountant is worth their salt.
How do corporations avoid paying taxes?
That's just a small sampling.
And you know what -really- steams me? The small business owners that use their companies as tax shelters. They happily barter for the majority of the services they need, they happily take cash under the table, employ illegal immigrants (woe is them, US citizens are just SO expensive. Then why is 4% of the country unemployed?), register their cars and trucks with commercial plates so they pay less insurance and dramatically less taxes, write off all their mileage as business expenses...the list goes on.
Ever wonder why Bubba the Landscaper has a brand new truck every single year, a huge house, 3-4 kids, a big powerboat and a summer place on the shore? It isn't because he's an investment genius. It's because he's NOT PAYING TAXES ON MOST OF HIS INCOME.
Please help metamoderate.
While I love seeing Paypal not getting their way, this ruling has much broader implications. All payment gateways and micropayment systems in the future (such as Google, I imagine) now have a legal precident that says they may need to turn over customer data to the IRS.
Also, does this issue already hold true for real-life equivalents such as credit cards and banks?
Abolish the IRS and get the government out of the business of spying on taxpaying citizens.
The FairTaxproposal is a comprehensive plan to replace federal income and payroll taxes, including personal, gift, estate, capital gains, alternative minimum, Social Security/Medicare, self-employment, and corporate taxes. The FairTax proposal integrates such features as a progressive national retail sales tax, dollar-for-dollar revenue replacement, and a rebate to ensure that no American pays such federal taxes up to the poverty level. Included in the FairTax plan is the repeal of the 16th Amendment to the Constitution. The FairTax allows Americans to keep 100 percent of their paychecks (minus any state income taxes), ends corporate taxes and compliance costs hidden in the retail cost of goods and services, and fully funds the federal government while fulfilling the promise of Social Security and Medicare.
Americans take home their whole paychecks.
Not only do more Americans have jobs, but they also take home 100 percent of their paychecks (except where state income taxes apply). No federal income taxes or payroll taxes are withheld from paychecks, pensions, or Social Security checks.
No federal sales tax up to the poverty level means progressivity like today's tax system.
To ensure no American pays tax on necessities, the FairTax plan provides a prepaid, monthly rebate (prebate) for every registered household to cover the consumption tax spent on necessities up to the federal poverty level. This, along with several other features, is how the FairTax completely untaxes the poor, lowers the tax burden on most, while making the overall rate progressive. However, the FairTax is progressive based on lifestyle/spending choices, rather than simply punishing those taxpayers who are successful. Do you see how much freer life is with the FairTax instead of the income tax?
No tax on used goods. The amount you pay to fund the government is totally visible.
With the FairTax you are only taxed once on any good or service; the sales tax is charged just as state sales taxes are today. If you choose to buy used goods - used car, used home, used appliances - you do not pay the FairTax. If, as a business owner or farmer, you buy something for strictly business purposes (not for personal consumption), you pay no consumption tax. When you decide what to buy and how much to spend, you see exactly how much you are contributing to the government with each purchase.
Retail prices no longer hide corporate taxes or their compliance costs, which drive up costs for those who can least afford to pay.
Did you know that hidden income taxes and the cost of complying with them currently make up 20 percent or more percent of all retail prices? It's true. According to Dr. Dale Jorgenson of Harvard University, hidden income taxes are passed on to the consumer in the form of higher prices for everything you buy. If competition does not allow prices to rise, corporations lower labor costs, again hurting those who can least afford to lose their jobs. Finally, if prices are as high as competition allows and labor costs are as low as practical, profits/dividends to shareholders are driven down, thereby hurting retirement savings for moms-and-pops and pension funds invested in Corporate America. With the FairTax, the sham of corporate taxation ends, competition drives prices down, more people in America have jobs, and retirement/pension funds see improved performance.
The income tax exports our jobs, rather than our products. The FairTax brings jobs home.
Most importantly, the FairTax does not burden U.S. exports the way the current income tax system does. The FairTax removes the cost of corporate taxes and compliance costs from the cost of U.S. exports, putting U.S. exports on a level playing field with foreign competitors. Lower prices sharply increase demand for U.S. exports, thereby increasing job creation i
Free your ecomony and enact the FairTax
Finor Associates has an entertaining product list. Highlights.
It's a full-service money laundering operation. The IRS ought to be investigating those guys.
If the assest protection depends on hiding assests, than it's not an legit asset protection.
A lot of what you said is just asset hiding, which you don't need to go off-shore tax heaven. It's just much harder to discover. Once there is a civil money judgement against your, the plantiff attorneys will surely file discovery request on your assets. You can try to hide, but have fun with jail times for cotempt or prejury if discovered.
And unless you fled with your money. The court still have power over you. You can build "anti-duress" provision into your off-shore asset protection trust. But if judge jail you for civil contempt, what are you going to do?
Don't believe me, search for "H Beatty Chdwick" for someone who hides 2.5 millions in oversea account and jailed over a decade for it.
For more recent case(Maybe too recent), searh for John Kontrabecki.