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If this post has no paragraph separations, please double-click on the title to create a more readable version. In 1789, Benjamin Franklin said, “Nothing is certain except death and taxes.” 234 years later? It’s still true. April 18th was tax day in the USA. By midnight that day, the bill must have been paid, either via mail date-stamped by the Post Office, or online. After that, if you owed money and didn’t send it in, penalties began to add up. Government at every level imposes taxes in order to pay its bills. Roads, schools, civil defense, water control, government employees, and more…all get a piece of the revenue pie. So what happens if you don’t file taxes? It is a crime not to pay and a definite no-no not to file. Since this is about money and the government needs more of it to run the programs, there are fines if you forget (or don’t want to pay), even jail time in certain cases. PenaltiesIf you would like to share this article with your friends or post a comment - please click here to visit full story page. →
- Not filing taxes: 5% of the tax owed for each month the return is past due.
- More than 60 days late filing: A minimum fine of $435. Maximum fine is 25% of the total owed. (Plus the amount you owe)
- Not paying at all: 0.5% of the unpaid taxes for each month the outstanding taxes aren’t paid, plus interest. Ouch.
- Tax evasion is fraud and means that you have used illegal ways to conceal income, with fines, penalties, and possible jail time (maybe five years) if found guilty. You lied on the forms. They can even charge you for the cost of prosecution.
- Tax avoidance uses legal ways to reduce income with tax credits and allowable deductions.