They Finally Got Me
[Update added.]
First, many, many thanks to the people who so generously responded to my latest request for help. I'm deeply grateful for all your support. The July rent has been paid, and I'm okay for the moment.
Unfortunately, I just received a notice from PayPal that what I thought might happen someday has now, in fact, happened. The lovely folks at the IRS served a levy on PayPal for all the funds in my account. So the IRS took what was there, and my PayPal account is unusable. (You would have seen a notice to that effect if you clicked on the PayPal logo, but I've now removed it.) I had managed to get a good portion of the recent donations out before this morning but, very sad to say, there was still a fair amount remaining. Basically, if you made a donation up to about a week ago, I have the funds. If your donation was more recent, the IRS has it. I'm more sorry than I can say, and I offer my special apologies to those who made donations only to find out their money has gone to the IRS and not me.
For years now, because I knew the IRS was out to get me at some point, I've kept the balance in my PayPal account very, very low. Whenever I made pitches for donations, I withdrew the funds almost immediately. But because my health has now gotten so much worse, I wasn't able to make as many trips as I wanted to the closest ATM. It's only a block and a half away, but given my enormous difficulties in getting around, it might as well be a couple of miles. The heat in L.A. didn't help, either. That's the reason there were still funds left for the IRS to get. My apologies and regrets again, both for all the kind donors and for my sorry ass.
However, I'm not content to let the matter stand there. That is, I'm not ready to lie down and die, which is what I'm certain they'd prefer. I obviously have no money to pay an attorney or tax specialist, but if there is anyone out there who would consider volunteering their expertise, I would like to find out if there are any options with the IRS at this point. I should tell you that I don't want to pay them a single damned cent -- I don't choose to give funds to murderers and torturers, thank you (which is why the IRS was after me in the first place) -- and I'd also like to get back at least some of the funds they've taken.
Beyond that, and looking ahead to next month's bills -- especially since I now must plan further ahead than before -- I guess I'll have to use the mail. I don't like to do that at all, and there are a few complications on that score as well, but if you're willing to consider it for future donations, please write me (arthur4801 -at- yahoo dot com) and put MAIL DONATIONS in the subject line. (I received several such inquiries in response to my last plea for donations, and I'll now respond to those emails explaining the situation.)
As I say, I suspected this might happen at some point, especially after PayPal began filing tax forms starting with the 2011 tax year. I had thought about providing a warning to donors that the IRS might suddenly swoop down, so that you kind people would be forewarned. I'm terribly sorry I didn't do that. But since the IRS and I hadn't communicated at all for years now, I thought (hoped) they might have forgotten about me. I mean, Jesus Christ, I HAVE ALMOST NO MONEY AT ALL. And I didn't receive any warning at all before this levy was imposed.
And that's another aspect of this that absolutely enrages me. I know, we all know, that there are multibillion dollar companies (and individuals) who, with the aid of their fleet of top line attorneys and financial experts, pay next to no taxes at all -- and in many cases, none, period. And yet these bastards come after me.
Well, to hell with them. This has made me so angry that I feel I have a new lease on life. With your help, I hope we can figure out a way around these difficulties. And just to show them, I'll live for another ten goddamned years, and write another ten books' worth of essays.
Once again, I offer my heartfelt apologies to those people whose donations have been swept up by the IRS. I cannot find words to express my regret.
"They" hate us for our "freedom." Fuck me. And they have.
UPDATE: I want to state again that I feel horribly guilt-ridden, truly stricken, about soliciting donations, only to have a fair number of them grabbed by the IRS. I keep thinking: if only I'd felt better and been able to get to the ATM more often before this morning, if only it hadn't been so damned hot (which does horrible things to me now on top of my ongoing physical ailments), if only, if only... Well, that way, madness lies. But I am sorrier about this whole goddamned mess than I can say.
During the day, I tried to remember the last time I had any communication from the IRS. I'm almost certain it was close to ten years ago. Ten years, during which I had heard nothing at all. So I had thought that perhaps, mercifully, I'd fallen off their radar. I guess that's a lesson for all of us: they never forget. If there is any way at all, they'll get you in the end.
Meanwhile, I've put my thinking cap on, trying to come up with ways in which I might manage to survive. As regular readers know, it doesn't take much to cover my very minimal bills. There has to be some way in which I can survive this, without facing eviction (which is my major concern -- along with internet access, although that's covered for this month). Eviction would mean...well, best not to think about what that would mean. Too early for that anyway.
If anyone has helpful, creative ideas, I'd love to hear them. And I'd also love to hear from some tax attorney/finance person who might be of a splendidly generous frame of mind, willing to offer what I hope would only be a little help to a deserving mendicant. As I said above, I primarily want to find out if I have any options at this point, and if there is any way to get the levy lifted, and perhaps even get some of the vanished funds back.
Many thanks to everyone again. I seem to be managing pretty well for the moment, given the possibly very dire implications of this latest news. But I think I may give myself some needed relief -- and go into the bathroom and scream for about half an hour. If I weren't surrounded by neighbors, some of whom would doubtless come running to see what was wrong, I'd do it. If only I lived in the middle of nowhere...maybe I'll just break a few dishes. Haha. Just kidding. Not really. Maybe just one...
First, many, many thanks to the people who so generously responded to my latest request for help. I'm deeply grateful for all your support. The July rent has been paid, and I'm okay for the moment.
Unfortunately, I just received a notice from PayPal that what I thought might happen someday has now, in fact, happened. The lovely folks at the IRS served a levy on PayPal for all the funds in my account. So the IRS took what was there, and my PayPal account is unusable. (You would have seen a notice to that effect if you clicked on the PayPal logo, but I've now removed it.) I had managed to get a good portion of the recent donations out before this morning but, very sad to say, there was still a fair amount remaining. Basically, if you made a donation up to about a week ago, I have the funds. If your donation was more recent, the IRS has it. I'm more sorry than I can say, and I offer my special apologies to those who made donations only to find out their money has gone to the IRS and not me.
For years now, because I knew the IRS was out to get me at some point, I've kept the balance in my PayPal account very, very low. Whenever I made pitches for donations, I withdrew the funds almost immediately. But because my health has now gotten so much worse, I wasn't able to make as many trips as I wanted to the closest ATM. It's only a block and a half away, but given my enormous difficulties in getting around, it might as well be a couple of miles. The heat in L.A. didn't help, either. That's the reason there were still funds left for the IRS to get. My apologies and regrets again, both for all the kind donors and for my sorry ass.
However, I'm not content to let the matter stand there. That is, I'm not ready to lie down and die, which is what I'm certain they'd prefer. I obviously have no money to pay an attorney or tax specialist, but if there is anyone out there who would consider volunteering their expertise, I would like to find out if there are any options with the IRS at this point. I should tell you that I don't want to pay them a single damned cent -- I don't choose to give funds to murderers and torturers, thank you (which is why the IRS was after me in the first place) -- and I'd also like to get back at least some of the funds they've taken.
Beyond that, and looking ahead to next month's bills -- especially since I now must plan further ahead than before -- I guess I'll have to use the mail. I don't like to do that at all, and there are a few complications on that score as well, but if you're willing to consider it for future donations, please write me (arthur4801 -at- yahoo dot com) and put MAIL DONATIONS in the subject line. (I received several such inquiries in response to my last plea for donations, and I'll now respond to those emails explaining the situation.)
As I say, I suspected this might happen at some point, especially after PayPal began filing tax forms starting with the 2011 tax year. I had thought about providing a warning to donors that the IRS might suddenly swoop down, so that you kind people would be forewarned. I'm terribly sorry I didn't do that. But since the IRS and I hadn't communicated at all for years now, I thought (hoped) they might have forgotten about me. I mean, Jesus Christ, I HAVE ALMOST NO MONEY AT ALL. And I didn't receive any warning at all before this levy was imposed.
And that's another aspect of this that absolutely enrages me. I know, we all know, that there are multibillion dollar companies (and individuals) who, with the aid of their fleet of top line attorneys and financial experts, pay next to no taxes at all -- and in many cases, none, period. And yet these bastards come after me.
Well, to hell with them. This has made me so angry that I feel I have a new lease on life. With your help, I hope we can figure out a way around these difficulties. And just to show them, I'll live for another ten goddamned years, and write another ten books' worth of essays.
Once again, I offer my heartfelt apologies to those people whose donations have been swept up by the IRS. I cannot find words to express my regret.
"They" hate us for our "freedom." Fuck me. And they have.
UPDATE: I want to state again that I feel horribly guilt-ridden, truly stricken, about soliciting donations, only to have a fair number of them grabbed by the IRS. I keep thinking: if only I'd felt better and been able to get to the ATM more often before this morning, if only it hadn't been so damned hot (which does horrible things to me now on top of my ongoing physical ailments), if only, if only... Well, that way, madness lies. But I am sorrier about this whole goddamned mess than I can say.
During the day, I tried to remember the last time I had any communication from the IRS. I'm almost certain it was close to ten years ago. Ten years, during which I had heard nothing at all. So I had thought that perhaps, mercifully, I'd fallen off their radar. I guess that's a lesson for all of us: they never forget. If there is any way at all, they'll get you in the end.
Meanwhile, I've put my thinking cap on, trying to come up with ways in which I might manage to survive. As regular readers know, it doesn't take much to cover my very minimal bills. There has to be some way in which I can survive this, without facing eviction (which is my major concern -- along with internet access, although that's covered for this month). Eviction would mean...well, best not to think about what that would mean. Too early for that anyway.
If anyone has helpful, creative ideas, I'd love to hear them. And I'd also love to hear from some tax attorney/finance person who might be of a splendidly generous frame of mind, willing to offer what I hope would only be a little help to a deserving mendicant. As I said above, I primarily want to find out if I have any options at this point, and if there is any way to get the levy lifted, and perhaps even get some of the vanished funds back.
Many thanks to everyone again. I seem to be managing pretty well for the moment, given the possibly very dire implications of this latest news. But I think I may give myself some needed relief -- and go into the bathroom and scream for about half an hour. If I weren't surrounded by neighbors, some of whom would doubtless come running to see what was wrong, I'd do it. If only I lived in the middle of nowhere...maybe I'll just break a few dishes. Haha. Just kidding. Not really. Maybe just one...
posted by Arthur Silber at 10:21 AM
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