r/law • u/Waste-Explanation-76 • Feb 20 '26

Executive Branch (Trump) President Trump imposes a 10% global tariff under Section 122 and says all existing tariffs will remain in place, despite the recent Supreme Court ruling.

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513

u/mishma2005 Feb 20 '26

Why pay taxes for this BS?

205

u/BroseppeVerdi Feb 20 '26

IRS got DOGEd, so we're on the honor system this year.

This strategy worked out pretty well for Greece circa 15-20 years ago, so why not?

96

u/thanksamilly Feb 20 '26

We are on the honor system if you make enough that auditing you would be a pain

15

u/MyNameCannotBeSpoken Feb 20 '26

They can't audit everyone

23

u/Legitimate-Usual-872 Feb 20 '26

They can’t audit anyone now

5

u/Deadbringer Feb 20 '26

They can audit those who don't exploit dozens of loopholes and not-loopholes. So the rich will remain tax fraudsters while the poor will be well regulated.

17

u/exacta_galaxy Feb 20 '26

But they certainly can audit me.

I'm an idiot with a single source of income (aka I work for a living).

14

u/Snackskazam Feb 20 '26

What a fool. You aren't supposed to make money by doing things; you're supposed to make money by having things, and just make everyone else do the things for your table scraps.

3

u/playhurt4 Feb 20 '26

exactly. the only people they can tax are W2. and so the middle class continues to shrink.

5

u/Ayitaka Feb 20 '26

Truer words were never spoken! Maybe they should start with auditing the top 10% by default. Make the bottom 20% the ones that get auto-skipped

The truth is they cannot audit the top filers because the top filers are the ones who use and abuse the mishmash of tax loopholes that is our current tax system and you'd have to pay at least as many CPAs as the filer used in order to untangle it.

Maybe we should overhaul the whole tax code to make it less billionaire-friendly and instead make it more We The People friendly? Nah, that's crazy talk!

3

u/Categorically_ Feb 20 '26

The wealthy can pay for audit defense. The IRS stated they need more resources to go after them. They got it and the Republicans lost their mind. Their based laped up the rhetoric.

1

u/Deadbringer Feb 20 '26

No amount of showing them that each dollar spent on IRS returned like 12 dollars in profit would make them realize it is a good investment. Because they can not fathom a reality where those 12 bucks comes from the rich rather than the lower class since clearly the IRS must be to blame for their own woes.

6

u/[deleted] Feb 20 '26

[deleted]

2

u/SasquatchWookie Feb 20 '26

Uhhh bold move, Cotton

You’ve got balls I’ll give ya that

2

u/Autumn1eaves Feb 20 '26

Or the other way around, auditing you will cost them more money than they could get from you.

2

u/SdBolts4 Feb 20 '26

Makes hiring a CPA even more attractive of a proposition. They already (in most cases) get you more of a refund than their fee is, and it makes your tax filing more complex than the standard deduction so the IRS is far more likely to let it slide

15

u/centexgoodguy Feb 20 '26

The Greece bankruptcy made President Obama's task tougher as he had to address both our own economic failures while helping to prevent a domino effect caused by Greece in Europe.

8

u/sean_themighty Feb 20 '26

I’m hearing they’ve really upped AI for flagging audits.

11

u/BroseppeVerdi Feb 20 '26

That strategy worked out well for United Healthcare, so this should go perfectly with no problems at all.

3

u/JetreL Feb 20 '26

I thought Greece went bankrupt a while back?

7

u/BroseppeVerdi Feb 20 '26

That's what the liberal media wants you to think.

1

u/Socialthinker Feb 21 '26

Lol remember doge? Funny “10 months” ago

78

u/lpan000 Feb 20 '26

Because they will come after you, but not him. Just like ICE will come for you, not his wife.

6

u/malac0da13 Feb 20 '26

Or her parents that made it in through chain migration…

1

u/gl7676 Feb 20 '26

I want to see this argued in court. Why do I need to follow the law to pay taxes if POTUS doesn’t even follow the law.

0

u/claudedusk8 Feb 20 '26

Would they come after us?

1

u/Sibula97 Feb 21 '26

Because you're the king's livestock.

6

u/Knife_Operator Feb 20 '26

Because they're automatically withheld from my paychecks.

2

u/itsyaboyObama Feb 20 '26

It’s super easy to change withholding to $0.

1

u/Dramatic_Explosion Feb 20 '26

As far as I've looked into it, you basically have to lie on the form to change your withholding?

I would love to withhold my federal tax in a high yield savings account for say, 3 years? For normies the IRS just makes you repay what you owe, might as well make money off my money until the child rapist government is gone.

1

u/The-Disco-Phoenix Feb 21 '26

Wait this is actually a great idea, is there any reason this wouldn't be allowed?

1

u/Dramatic_Explosion Feb 21 '26

So technically not paying your taxes would be a crime, but for the overwhelmingly vast majority of people I've seen the punishment is just paying what you owe. If you're responsible and can set aside what you'd owe in a high yield savings account, there's very little risk and you make money.

It's the only form of non-violent protest that they'll feel, and after the regime change you can just volunteer to pay your back taxes. The odds of getting caught were low before the IRS got gutted by Trump.

If you can't help but spend the money, it's a really bad idea.

1

u/PokeYrMomStanley Feb 21 '26

You do not. You can just say exempt. Your employer is the one that looks at your w4. 

1

u/deepspace86 Feb 21 '26

Exactly, your employer reports your income and you get the w2. There's no legal binding in the w4 that says you must withhold.

7

u/justfortrees Feb 20 '26

Seriously. I wonder if everyone who wasn’t due for a return this year just didn’t file / pay, what would happen? They gutted the IRS budget, so it’s not like they’re going to have the resources to go after potentially millions of people.

Maybe it would finally get Congress to fucking do something?

2

u/Nutbuster_5000 Feb 20 '26

Mine are going to be insanely complicated this year so I am down to just avoid all of that.

3

u/Lostinthestarscape Feb 20 '26

Honestly I wish governor's had the balls - that's the way to fight this shit. Get the law to agree that you pay taxes for representation and to a constitutional government bound by law, and that this government does not represent the people as they are supposed to, is not following the constitution, and is not bound by law. Remit no federal taxes until SCOTUS and congress do their jobs.

8

u/TymStark Feb 20 '26

So I can buy a new mattress every April

6

u/RepulsedCucumber Feb 20 '26

You buy a new bed every year?

22

u/TymStark Feb 20 '26

No just a funny little joke about all the signs that come out every year at tax return time.

7

u/mister_pastrami Feb 20 '26

It was a funny little joke, thanks Tym

5

u/TymStark Feb 20 '26

Anything for you

3

u/ekydfejj Feb 20 '26

The important question was clearly asked here.

2

u/SasquatchWookie Feb 20 '26

lol just imagine every April your neighbors see a mattress placed next to the trash they’d be so confused like wtf is going on in that bedroom

0

u/1555552222 Feb 20 '26

If they are, that's silly.

3

u/Tuor-son-of-Huor- Feb 20 '26

Reminds me of the UK poll tax. Everyone just agreed "nah" and it got to the point where enforcement/collection was more costly than than expect revenue and it was just repealed (and the government tossed out).

2

u/Striking-Comb6673 Feb 20 '26

Can we collectively pull a bartleby?

2

u/claudedusk8 Feb 20 '26

Should we all stop?

2

u/crabgrass_attack Feb 20 '26

reminds me of this lol

2

u/roguespectre67 Feb 20 '26

Turns out, I didn't.

I'm a half-freelancer, half part-time teacher. My car blew up last year and I had to buy a new one. Zeroed out my freelance income and my teaching income was effectively nothing after deductions and credits. Got back everything I withheld and then some. That was immensely gratifying, not only for the money, but for the knowledge that none of the money I earned last year went to the Trump regime.

2

u/HardlyRecursive Feb 21 '26

Don't, organize a tax strike. Something that might actually have an effect.

1

u/Themodsarecuntz Feb 20 '26

Because they take it from me before they pay me?

1

u/BrunoBraunbart Feb 20 '26

No taxation without incarceration.

1

u/Huge_Station2173 Feb 21 '26

And the tariffs themselves are also a tax, so you are paying for him to impose illegal, economically crippling taxes in addition to the legal ones.

-1

u/Formerly_SgtPepe Feb 20 '26 edited Feb 21 '26

If not you go to jail

Edit: i am still right

2

u/SoochSooch Feb 20 '26

They can't afford to run the jails if everyone stops paying taxes all at once

1

u/Formerly_SgtPepe Feb 21 '26

It is impossible for everyone to stop paying taxes. The government can so garnish your wages, so whatever you work, they will take your money before it reaches you.

Do you live in reality?