When I first got into some hot water with my tax problems, I had a ton of state income tax questions. What was going to happen to me? Was I going to lose my home? How could I get all this resolved? How to pay a state tax lien? Do I owe state taxes? How can i find out if i owe state taxes? I just had so many state income tax questions.
My life became a nightmare. The IRS notified me that they were going to start garnishing my wages and my boss was going to fire me because of that. I tried to resolve everything myself, but I drowned in paper work. I mean, the easiest form that the IRS has (the 1040EZ) has thirty three pages of just instructions.
That was the day I decided to wake up from the nightmare and hire a tax attorney, who could not only answer my state income tax questions, but help me fight back against the IRS. When I started bombarding him state income tax questions, he stopped, backed me up, and started it from the top. Apparently, the first federal income tax was adopted as part of the Revenue Act of 1861, and since that time 43 states and many localities in the United States have imposed an income tax on individuals.
Once my situation was all explained, my lawyer told me that firing an employee so that they could avoid having to handle a tax levy is a criminal offense. In fact, federal law provides for a fine of up to 1,000 dollars and imprisonment for up to a year on an employer that willfully fires an employee in connection with a garnishment of their earnings.
In the end, I got everything take care of. Did I struggle for a long time paying the taxes? Yes, but I did not go to jail or go bankrupt in the process, which is what is important. It was just a matter of having a strict budget and following it.
Tax laws are screwy. Did you know that Alabama has a 10 cent tax on a deck of playing cards? This is why it is easier if you have state income tax questions to go and find a tax attorney rather than dealing with them yourself. You will be happier that way. Trust me.
If you have any stories or experiences dealing with state income tax questions, leave your stories in the comments. How did you get your state income tax questions answers? Where did you turn?