Ferrari Mailing List: Re: Fwd: How Chickenshit Is The IRS?

[Dennis Liu (bigheaddennis]

Hey, since we're apparently going completely off-topic today...


Willi, I'm easily among the more extreme in terms of criticizing our tax
policies, but don't lose that tenuous grip on reality, ok?  :-)

Of course the house is taxable.  Why the heck not?  It's attributable as
income to the recipients.

Ah, but one might protest, "it's not fair!  This is a worthy family, why
should they get taxed on something really nice?"

Because tax codes (and laws in general) have to be written so that they have
utility and broad application.

1.  Single mother of four kids, in desperate circumstances, receives free
house.  Pay tax on it?  No?  Ok.

2.  Middle-class family, not on food stamps but working two jobs each,
receives free house.  Pay tax on it?  No?  Ok.

3.  Upper-middle class family, husband is a doctor, wife is an accountant,
receives free house.  Pay tax on it?  Yes?  Ok.

How do you distinguish between these scenarios?  Do you want to put together
a panel of judges to decide if a case is worthy enough to avoid taxation?  

Don't forget - if a recipient is "poor" enough, her tax bracket is much
lower than "wealthier" recipients, so she's ALREADY paying much less tax!

And don't forget too that, as ever, "money is fungible."

If instead of getting the house, the family in question got $500k in cash to
pay for a new house.  Should that be taxable?  No?  Apply the same test
above.

Bottom line, the family may indeed not be able to afford to pay the tax
bill.  While it may suck that they will have to sell the house and use the
proceeds to pay the IRS, they are STILL WAY AHEAD!  

I'd LOVE it if someone tore down my shack, built one worth a lot more in its
place, and I sold it, paid the taxes, and bought another house elsewhere
that, while not as nice as the new one, is still much better than my old
shack.

Yeesh.

Vty,

--Dennis
 

-----Original Message-----
From: red5hilser [at] aol.com [mailto:red5hilser [at] aol.com] 
Sent: Friday, September 28, 2007 11:08 AM
To: Dennis Liu
Cc: The FerrariList
Subject: [Ferrari] Fwd: How Chickenshit Is The IRS?


Hey Todd: You wonder if the family that got the 'Extreme Makeover' will have
to pay taxes to the IRS for the value of the upgrade? LMFAO! Does the old
song, 'Tax Man' ring a bell?



Yer pal, Ferrari Bubba


Subject: How Chickenshit Is The IRS?




I watched?the Bud Greenspan documentary' "Kings of the Ring: The Heavyweight
Champions' on Sundance today.?Bud brought up the story of Joe Lewis and how
he was shafted by the IRS during WW2. After Pearl Harbor, Joe enlisted in
the U.S. Army as a private. Not like most of the 'fairy' Hollywood types who
went in a captians, majors, etc. and never left Hollywood.?In his off-duty
time he held boxing exhibitions to help raise money for our fighting men.
Although he donated every dime of the money to the War Relief Fund, the IRS
said it was 'taxable income' and took what money he had saved during his
career before the war. Joe ended up penniless as a greeter for some casino
in Las Vegas before dying broke. Later, my 1st wife and I were in a joint in
'Vegas one night and met Sonny Liston, working the same kind of gig. The
'Little Lady' went over to him and asked, "Hey, mister, aren't you Mohammed
Ali?" Sonny took a long, hard look at her and said, "lady, where's your
husband, I want to knock him out" as I slowly backed away, complimentary
drink in hand.. Knowing Greenspan's rep as a stright shooter and our beloved
government, I believe it's a true story.

Yer pal, Ferrari Bubba
Email and AIM finally together. You've gotta check out free AOL Mail!



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