5 ms·

What about for taxes? The UD has a reputation of being pretty good at tracking their citizens even outside the US to get their taxes.

by mijamo 5y ago

munk-a 5y ago
All US tax payers have a tax payer ID - attempting to use that for anything else would likely be shut down really quickly by republicans.
- dragonwriter 5y ago
  > All US tax payers have a tax payer ID - attempting to use that for anything else would likely be shut down really quickly by republicans. For most taxpayers, that's the SSN, and its widely used for other purposes. Republicans mostly seem to have a problem when people point out that their incompetence is causing them to leak publicly, e.g., https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28867562 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28867562
  - munk-a 5y ago
    I believe (though I'm not totally certain) that the tax payer ID is actually always distinct - most domestic tax filing is done with SSN though and then translated to the tax payer ID. The context here is that my spouse is non-American and had to acquire a tax payer ID when we were married.
    - pseudalopex 5y ago
      "A Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) is an identification number used by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in the administration of tax laws. It is issued either by the Social Security Administration (SSA) or by the IRS. A Social Security number (SSN) is issued by the SSA whereas all other TINs are issued by the IRS."[1] [1] https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/taxpayer-identification-numbers-tin https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/taxp...
      - munk-a 5y ago
        Oh neat TIL - thanks!
Amezarak 5y ago
The IRS doesn’t actually know - it trusts you to report your status accurately. Of course, they could demand proof during an audit, I suppose, but “proof” can get fuzzy. But on top of that, not everyone, not even every adult, is required to file taxes. People can and do live their whole lives never filing taxes. So, “this person has never filed a return” is not proof of anything. It also doesn’t share this information anyway - US agencies are not big on sharing and in the case of the IRS, there’s privacy reasons. But of course, if you tell the IRS you’re a citizen and you file taxes ten years in a row, they might have questions if you suddenly stop. :) Here are the voter registration requirements in New Hampshire, to pick a state out at random, for example: https://sos.nh.gov/media/nbhlz4bt/registering-to-vote-in-new-hampshire-oct2021.pdf https://sos.nh.gov/media/nbhlz4bt/registering-to-vote-in-new... You can literal simply pinky swear and sign a document in front of an election official at your voting place and time that you are an eligible voter to register, and then go vote. They have no practical way of truly verifying what you say in most cases. There are legitimate edge cases that need this, so that’s why things work this way.

What about for taxes? The UD has a reputation of being pretty good at tracking their citizens even outside the US to get their taxes.

by mijamo 5y ago

What about for taxes? The UD has a reputation of being pretty good at tracking their citizens even outside the US to get their taxes.

munk-a 5y ago

All US tax payers have a tax payer ID - attempting to use that for anything else would likely be shut down really quickly by republicans.

dragonwriter 5y ago
> All US tax payers have a tax payer ID - attempting to use that for anything else would likely be shut down really quickly by republicans. For most taxpayers, that's the SSN, and its widely used for other purposes. Republicans mostly seem to have a problem when people point out that their incompetence is causing them to leak publicly, e.g., https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28867562 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28867562
- munk-a 5y ago
  I believe (though I'm not totally certain) that the tax payer ID is actually always distinct - most domestic tax filing is done with SSN though and then translated to the tax payer ID. The context here is that my spouse is non-American and had to acquire a tax payer ID when we were married.
  - pseudalopex 5y ago
    "A Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) is an identification number used by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in the administration of tax laws. It is issued either by the Social Security Administration (SSA) or by the IRS. A Social Security number (SSN) is issued by the SSA whereas all other TINs are issued by the IRS."[1] [1] https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/taxpayer-identification-numbers-tin https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/taxp...
    - munk-a 5y ago
      Oh neat TIL - thanks!

Amezarak 5y ago

The IRS doesn’t actually know - it trusts you to report your status accurately. Of course, they could demand proof during an audit, I suppose, but “proof” can get fuzzy. But on top of that, not everyone, not even every adult, is required to file taxes. People can and do live their whole lives never filing taxes. So, “this person has never filed a return” is not proof of anything. It also doesn’t share this information anyway - US agencies are not big on sharing and in the case of the IRS, there’s privacy reasons. But of course, if you tell the IRS you’re a citizen and you file taxes ten years in a row, they might have questions if you suddenly stop. :) Here are the voter registration requirements in New Hampshire, to pick a state out at random, for example: https://sos.nh.gov/media/nbhlz4bt/registering-to-vote-in-new-hampshire-oct2021.pdf https://sos.nh.gov/media/nbhlz4bt/registering-to-vote-in-new... You can literal simply pinky swear and sign a document in front of an election official at your voting place and time that you are an eligible voter to register, and then go vote. They have no practical way of truly verifying what you say in most cases. There are legitimate edge cases that need this, so that’s why things work this way.