Not paying your taxes??? What implications ensues?

“Your mission (Mr. Phelps). should you choose to accept it...”

Today, I have a story to discuss that comes to me from a dear friend in the LA area. Each month he writes an article entitled; “Think About It” - always interesting and usually quite enlightening. Here is his article in full and there is much to think about from at least two different points of view.

We are all aware of the disastrous oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and the great toll that it is taking on the local inhabitants, particularly those who depend on the water life for their livings. Among this group are the fishermen who work in the Louisiana bayous. According to a recent article in the LA Times, British Petroleum (who will ultimately be paying for all of the damage that their broken drilling operation is causing) has been trying to compensate these small businesspeople for their losses.

However, an interesting glitch has arisen in the compensation program. In order to get the compensation BP is asking the claimants to provide some type of validation of their actual losses. In the case of the fishermen, that documentation typically consists of proof of residence, a fishing license, and tax statements. The glitch is that an unknown number of these people have not been paying taxes. (hum.... ed.)

As part of the story, the reporter interviewed several of the residents in the area. One person worried about turning over records to the Internal Revenue Service because, “...that puts you in the system. If the numbers don’t add up, people who have not been paying taxes are going to regret it.” Another person, who admitted to a failure to pay taxes since 2000, asked for the money to pay back taxes so a tax return could be generated. A third person asked; “How can I pay taxes if everything I earned was in cash?”

Interestingly, the local politicians (hum... ed.) were supportive of their constituents. One of them said that, “...the bean counters in the IRS do not deal with culture or heritage; they deal with numbers.”

While I have a great deal of sympathy over what has happened to these people, I also am concerned about the message (that) we will make if we reward people who have broken the law. (!!) It is the responsibility of all of us to make society work, and that includes the painful act of paying our taxes. Should some people have it both ways? Actions have consequences; is society responsible for those who knowingly and consciously fail to be responsible to it?

Think about it.

by Dr. Ron Koretz

Now, as I said, there are certainly different ways to look at this situation and not the least of them is the Jewish response. There is, of course the Biblical response as well as that of the (so called) Judeo-Christian ‘Laws’ which leads to a different discussion that is not entirely germane to this discussion; and the implication that Jews are responsible to the observance of the lands in which they live. And, without discussing the BP means for ascertaining the funds to be provided to those who have truly lost their parnassa, let’s confine our reactions to those people and leave British Petroleum for different considerations.

As Dr. Koretz says; “Think about it” -

I would like to know your thoughts and ruminations.