Another (Confusing, Time-Traveling) Letter from the I.R.S.

It’s been less than a month since the IRS sent me a notice telling me I’d failed to include a check when I sent in my tax return (see ♇ 17 May 2016). Today I got a “Notice of Intent to Levy” for the same tax year.

The notice is dated, confusingly, a week in the future. Even more confusingly, while the first notice showed that I originally owed $5,007 in taxes, to which the agency added $25.03 in penalties and $13.15 in interest; the new notice says that I originally owed $5,045, to which they’ve added $25.04 in penalties and $11.59 in interest.

But other than that, it’s the usual blah blah that I’ve seen in past years.

In other news.

• Someone going by the name “Litmus A Freeman” has embarked on a baroque and methodical legalistic personal declaration of independence from Her Majesty’s government, which includes refusing to pay taxes because they fund illegal wars. He’s even composed a protest song to celebrate his “No Tax For War” decision.
• Greek activists obtained the names of public transit ticket inspectors, whose homes have since been spray-painted “Snitches.”
• Indian anti-corruption activists are responding to demands for bribes from government officials with fake bank notes bearing Mahatma Gandhi’s image and anti-corruption messages in the hopes of shaming those officials and underlining their refusal to pay such bribes.