Dear Readers,
This Digital Currency Nanny State issue has already affected me twice in the last several years. As a business owner in my state, I’m required to pay sales tax and quarterly business taxes via the state website. A few years ago I mistakenly clicked “savings” account instead of “checking” on their site while trying to pay the amount due. Later we received a threatening letter stating they would “seize” assets, property, or funds to get the amount they said we owed. A couple of days later the funds were seized from our account, with a penalty. I didn’t even get a say in the matter to explain what happened.
The next time occurred this past year. The same state claimed we did not file some paperwork correctly. Keep in mind I use a certified public accountant (CPA), so I don’t have issues like this. However, for whatever reason, we continue to be the target of the state and the Fed. I just want to be clear, we have always filed and paid every requirement to the state and Federal governments. The paperwork they claimed we did not file, was actually filed. We had proof and dates. They claimed we did not “respond” in time. The interesting part of this is the fact that they were not saying we “owed” any money. It was simply that they claimed we did not file a certain form. Once again after corresponding for six months, they ruled against us. The sickening part is that they seized the $456 penalty at the very beginning of the ordeal. So the entire time we were appealing, they already had our money.
Three things I learned from these situations:
- We are no longer innocent until proven guilty. In both instances, the state withdrew our money, then we were expected to appeal to get it returned. (It never was returned.) We were definitely guilty until proven innocent, and our innocence was only determined by bias of the state.
- The other lesson I learned is to be very careful about who has access to our accounts. Unfortunately, my greatest fear is government access. No one else has ever stolen from me on that level.
- A cashless society is very dangerous. With the click of a mouse anyone’s account can be drained, manipulated, and tracked. The freedom to be anonymous will disappear, and our every purchase can and will be tracked. – A.W. From the North