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+--- Thread: If you DWJD? (/thread-1282.html)
If you DWJD? - Ossicle - 10-27-2005
Hi,
I'm just curious, does any know or have any ideas what would happen if one did as Jack did, and just walked away from their identity?
I mean specifically with respect to state and federal government. I'm wondering if the state Dept of Taxation and/or the IRS ever cross-reference dates of birth with tax returns, to find our who hasn't filed a return. (When you do have to start paying taxes, at 18? I forget.)
If this happened, I assume they'd make some kind of effort to track you down, presumably first by writing to the last address they have for you, which would probably be your parents.
I have no idea if that's right, but if it is, then presumably Jack's dad would've been contacted by the revenuers at some point, and thus would have become aware that Jack at the very least wasn't paying taxes.
I'm not criticizing/nitpicking how Jack's escape from society was portrayed, I'm just curious how this would work in real life.
-oss
If you DWJD? - matthewsmommy - 10-27-2005
Ossicle Wrote:Hi,If you have no "real" job, you don't pay income taxes. No W-2's, no tax man.
I'm just curious, does any know or have any ideas what would happen if one did as Jack did, and just walked away from their identity?
I mean specifically with respect to state and federal government. I'm wondering if the state Dept of Taxation and/or the IRS ever cross-reference dates of birth with tax returns, to find our who hasn't filed a return. (When you do have to start paying taxes, at 18? I forget.)
If this happened, I assume they'd make some kind of effort to track you down, presumably first by writing to the last address they have for you, which would probably be your parents.
I have no idea if that's right, but if it is, then presumably Jack's dad would've been contacted by the revenuers at some point, and thus would have become aware that Jack at the very least wasn't paying taxes.
I'm not criticizing/nitpicking how Jack's escape from society was portrayed, I'm just curious how this would work in real life.
-oss
If you DWJD? - Ashe - 10-27-2005
I can Honestly say that until I joined the military I pretty much was a non-entity. I worked construction, got paid under the counter, I did have a state ID but that was it.
If you DWJD? - The Mad American - 10-27-2005
Someone will correct me if I am wrong here but I believe Jack never had an official job where he would have paid any taxes or had anything to do with officialdom. He started fixing stuff when he was a teenager and therefore never created a trail for Official crooks to follow.
If you DWJD? - matthewsmommy - 10-27-2005
The Mad American Wrote:Someone will correct me if I am wrong here but I believe Jack never had an official job where he would have paid any taxes or had anything to do with officialdom. He started fixing stuff when he was a teenager and therefore never created a trail for Official crooks to follow.That's my recollection.
If you DWJD? - Ossicle - 10-27-2005
The Mad American Wrote:Someone will correct me if I am wrong here but I believe Jack never had an official job where he would have paid any taxes or had anything to do with officialdom. He started fixing stuff when he was a teenager and therefore never created a trail for Official crooks to follow.
You and Matthewsmommy make the same point, and I think you're right, but that's essentially what I'm asking: If you never had a "real" job or started adult paperwork, would you eventually turn up on some state or federal database as a person who (based on Social Security database) was born enough years ago that by now they should have received taxes from you? Perhaps the answer's just "no," but that's what I'm wondering.
-Oss
If you DWJD? - Scott Hajek - 10-27-2005
Ossicle Wrote:You and Matthewsmommy make the same point, and I think you're right, but that's essentially what I'm asking: If you never had a "real" job or started adult paperwork, would you eventually turn up on some state or federal database as a person who (based on Social Security database) was born enough years ago that by now they should have received taxes from you? Perhaps the answer's just "no," but that's what I'm wondering.
-Oss
I believe that the trend for assignment of a SSN at birth didn't start until well after Jack would've been born. I think it's much more recent that it was required. His parents may not have gone through the process, and a SSN wasn't necessary for him at all. He could've had nothing but summer jobs cutting grass, walking dogs, etc. and been paid in cash. As long as Jack never worked at McDonald's, there would be no start to his payment of payroll taxes.
Could you imagine Jack working at McDonald's?
If you DWJD? - matthewsmommy - 10-27-2005
Ossicle Wrote:You and Matthewsmommy make the same point, and I think you're right, but that's essentially what I'm asking: If you never had a "real" job or started adult paperwork, would you eventually turn up on some state or federal database as a person who (based on Social Security database) was born enough years ago that by now they should have received taxes from you? Perhaps the answer's just "no," but that's what I'm wondering.When you have a real job, your employer has your SS#. That's how taxes are tracked. If you don't earn a wage, you don't owe taxes. If nobody is reporting (with your SS#) that they're paying you a wage, the IRS has no reason to care where you are or what you're doing. There are many people who never work real jobs. I would say the majority of them are on some other government database because they're most likely getting benefits like welfare, disability, etc. It would be harder to get away with the things Jack does now simply because babies are assigned a SS# shortly after birth. Their schooling is tracked, albeit not very closely. I didn't have a SS# until I was 15. Jacks can exist in our generations, but the later ones may be a bit more difficult.
-Oss
If you DWJD? - Ossicle - 10-27-2005
matthewsmommy Wrote:When you have a real job, your employer has your SS#. That's how taxes are tracked. If you don't earn a wage, you don't owe taxes. If nobody is reporting (with your SS#) that they're paying you a wage, the IRS has no reason to care where you are or what you're doing. There are many people who never work real jobs. I would say the majority of them are on some other government database because they're most likely getting benefits like welfare, disability, etc. It would be harder to get away with the things Jack does now simply because babies are assigned a SS# shortly after birth. Their schooling is tracked, albeit not very closely. I didn't have a SS# until I was 15. Jacks can exist in our generations, but the later ones may be a bit more difficult.
Cool! Thank you very much!
-o
If you DWJD? - matthewsmommy - 10-27-2005
Ossicle Wrote:Cool! Thank you very much!Glad to be of service, oss! (BTW, you went from Ossicle, to oss, and now you're at -o......what's going on here?
-o
)