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From: chris@umcp-cs.UUCP (Chris Torek)
Newsgroups: net.taxes
Subject: Re: Not filing, overpayment, and refunds
Message-ID: <3272@umcp-cs.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 19-Feb-86 10:25:16 EST
Article-I.D.: umcp-cs.3272
Posted: Wed Feb 19 10:25:16 1986
Date-Received: Fri, 21-Feb-86 08:09:42 EST
References: <662@decwrl.DEC.COM> <1082@lsuc.UUCP> <1005@psivax.UUCP> <1707@bbncc5.UUCP> <513@mmm.UUCP>
Organization: U of Maryland, Computer Science Dept., College Park, MD
Lines: 31

In article <513@mmm.UUCP> mrgofor@mmm.UUCP writes:

>I know a guy who, for a seven year period, decided that he didn't
>have to file a return. He figured that the IRS was withholding
>money from his paycheck, and since they already had his damned
>money, they had no business making him file a return - so he didn't.
>So the IRS finally decides that this is not a situation of which
>they are fond, so they audited him. The funny part is - the audit
>showed that over those seven years he had *overpaid* $11,000.
>
>The kicker is - because of statutes of limitations, he could only
>collect about $3,000 of that 11,000. I hope he learned something
>from all of this, but I doubt it.

(Apologies for so much included text; it all seemed relevant.) I
have one point to make in response:  Part of what you pay with
income tax is `potential money': your time.  How much is your time
worth?

Ignoring the question of whether it is mandatory to file---is it
perhaps cheaper not to file, though if you did you might get as
much as a few hundred dollars back?

(Of course, the answer depends on how you value your time.  And
perhaps your health as well [eyestrain, nervous tension, and all
that bad stuff while filling out 1040 forms]. ---And it is also
important not to ignore that primary question after all.)
-- 
In-Real-Life: Chris Torek, Univ of MD Comp Sci Dept (+1 301 454 1415)
UUCP:	seismo!umcp-cs!chris
CSNet:	chris@umcp-cs		ARPA:	chris@mimsy.umd.edu