Ed Miller's Tax Article - Page 2

Peter666 · #11 11-02-2005, 01:53 PM

We recently had a little discussion about this on the news forum, but I can't find the link. Anyway: all blackjack and poker winnings are not taxable in Canada. Any taxes taken from these winnings in foreign countries (eg: winning a chunk of money in a poker tournament in Vegas) can be reclaimed.

Again, I can't stress enough, DON'T TELL THE POLITICIANS!

StellarWind · #12 11-02-2005, 04:39 PM

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Party doesnt have your taxpayer ID

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Yes, that should definitely make IGM's records unusable to the IRS [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img].

Actually it's not even true for most of us. Just because you never explicitly gave IGM your SSN doesn't mean they don't have it.

Lottery Larry · #13 11-02-2005, 05:13 PM

Note to everyone- this is for CANADA. In the USA, all session gambling income is taxable, whether legal or illegal sources and whether you ended up with an actual profit or not.

As the OP said, if you have a lot of income to defend, getting a pro to squeeze out the lowest payment might make sense. For many recreational gamblers, following the IRS guidelines is probably most cost-efficient.

(How do I know? I called the IRS to check on my filing procedures and asked some questions)

The cost/benefit ratio of ducking taxes may not be worth it if the IRS goes backwards in an audit, as they're sure to do. Unless you can prove this is your first year of gambling....

BarronVangorToth · #14 11-02-2005, 05:27 PM

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getting a pro to squeeze out the lowest payment might make sense. For many recreational gamblers, following the IRS guidelines is probably most cost-efficient.

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There are many areas in life where we can comfortably cut corners to curtail costs ... hiring a skilled CPA I don't believe is such an area. Mine has made me tens of thousands of dollars above and beyond his fees; I'm sure others could attest likewise.

There's a reason Ed wrote:

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hiring a CPA which is INDISPENSIBLE

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Barron Vangor Toth
BarronVangorToth.com

jj_frap · #15 11-02-2005, 07:41 PM

IF you want to be an Internet pro-gambler that badly, move to Canada. [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

tipperdog · #16 11-03-2005, 06:36 PM

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...it really becomes a matter of weighing your savings [generated by not paying taxes] against the cost of an audit (including penalties and interest should decide not to fight the matter in court) X the liklihood of an audit.

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The above post (and Ed's original article) suggest that one should pay one's taxes to mitigate the risk of being audited or penalized by the IRS.

Is it so ridiculous to suggest that we ought to pay the proper amounts because it's the law and following the law is the right thing to do?

Put another way, if I could give you a rock-solid 100% guarantee that you would NOT be audited and/or penalized for failing to report your online earnings, how would that change your outlook?

Xhad · #17 11-03-2005, 07:27 PM

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Is it so ridiculous to suggest that we ought to pay the proper amounts because it's the law and following the law is the right thing to do?

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The part in bold is an opinion that not everyone will share. However, the risk of being audited is completely objective meaning it can be logically argued just like any other poker problem. Furthermore, people who always obey the law and who consider cheating on their taxes dishonest are probably doing all this research whether Ed Miller warns them to do so or not.

tipperdog · #18 11-03-2005, 08:09 PM

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The part in bold is an opinion that not everyone will share. However, the risk of being audited is completely objective meaning it can be logically argued just like any other poker problem.

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That's really my point. Some things should not be quantified like "other poker problems."

For example: let's say that you've cashed out of your game at a local cardroom and are walking toward the exit. You see a guy with a $5,000 stack of 100s sticking way out of his back pocket. You believe there is a 98% chance that you could pick the guy's pocket and get way with it. If caught, you will have to pay triple that amount as a fine, $15,000 (criminal charges are an impossibility in my example). This is an easily quantifiable situation, where stealing the money is +EV. But would the average 2+2er do it? I'd bet not, because (I hope) the average 2+2er believes that stealing is wrong.

All I'm saying is that it's somewhat surprising to me that amid a flurry of posts about the IRS and taxes, no one has said simply, "you should pay your taxes because it's the right thing to do."

BarronVangorToth · #19 11-03-2005, 08:30 PM

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"you should pay your taxes because it's the right thing to do."

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Agreed.

Plus, from what I've learned from the prison documentary Oz, it's not a place I want to go.

Barron Vangor Toth
BarronVangorToth.com

mmcd · #20 11-03-2005, 09:57 PM

[ QUOTE ]
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The part in bold is an opinion that not everyone will share. However, the risk of being audited is completely objective meaning it can be logically argued just like any other poker problem.

[/ QUOTE ]
That's really my point. Some things should not be quantified like "other poker problems."

For example: let's say that you've cashed out of your game at a local cardroom and are walking toward the exit. You see a guy with a $5,000 stack of 100s sticking way out of his back pocket. You believe there is a 98% chance that you could pick the guy's pocket and get way with it. If caught, you will have to pay triple that amount as a fine, $15,000 (criminal charges are an impossibility in my example). This is an easily quantifiable situation, where stealing the money is +EV. But would the average 2+2er do it? I'd bet not, because (I hope) the average 2+2er believes that stealing is wrong.

All I'm saying is that it's somewhat surprising to me that amid a flurry of posts about the IRS and taxes, no one has said simply, "you should pay your taxes because it's the right thing to do."

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$5000 in some guy's back pocket rightfully belongs to that guy. It's kind of hard to dispute that. (At least vis a vis some random person walking up behind him and seeing the money)

Does 1/3 of what I make this year rightfully belong to the U.S. government? At the very least this matter is open for debate from a moral standpoint. In fact, many would argue that paying taxes at these rates is manifestly immoral for a wide variety reasons. Some people view paying taxes under the current IRC as each individual paying their rightful share of the cost necessary to run society, while others look at paying taxes under the current IRC as being shaken down by people with lots of guns and lots of cages who are just going piss the money away anyways.