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1. Embed this notice
   KeepTakingTheSoma (keeptakingthesoma@spinster.xyz)'s status on Friday, 02-Jan-2026 00:23:37 JST KeepTakingTheSoma

   • Derb of the Swamplands
   @Derb It's a very good point.
   It's also a good example of how citizens and governments are conflated.
   Governments use taxation (in theory) to make collective spending decisions for the good of the people who provide the money. In practice they use it to further their goals of global domination which benefit them personally. They then *blame* the citizens for government actions and use taxes to *punish* their citizens for said government actions.
   So for example, if the government bombs the shit out of a country because - reasons- (war on terror/drugs/whatever) then it ensures (through the presstitutes) that the citizens are seen as morally culpable (because they elected the government, right?) and therefore the *aid* sent abroad is a form of plenary indulgence/humanitarian support and the price you pay for the privilege of being able to bomb the shit out of places, because . . .reasons. This also includes the deliberate influx of migrants (some of which have had the shit bombed out of their country) but many who haven't - if your country hadn't behaved badly then they wouldn't be here, but also they should be here because . . reasons.
   It's a rigged game and the only way to win is to refuse to play.
   Stop voting for these criminals (and they're all criminals).
   Stop paying taxes (they can't fund this shit without your money).
   • Embed this notice
     RadicalCartoons (radicalcartoons@spinster.xyz)'s status on Friday, 02-Jan-2026 01:12:34 JST RadicalCartoons

     in reply to

     • Derb of the Swamplands
     @KeepTakingTheSoma @Derb Are you going to stop paying yours? Let us know how that works out for you.
     How do you stop your income tax being collected, for a start? Will your employer agree to do that, making himself liable for 7 years in gaol?
     KeepTakingTheSoma likes this.
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     Sir Joho the Swasselknight (sirjoho@noauthority.social)'s status on Friday, 02-Jan-2026 11:16:23 JST Sir Joho the Swasselknight

     in reply to

     • RadicalCartoons
     • Derb of the Swamplands

     @RadicalCartoons @Derb @KeepTakingTheSoma the central banking system means taxation is really just punitive at this point, they will just print it anyway

     KeepTakingTheSoma likes this.
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     RadicalCartoons (radicalcartoons@spinster.xyz)'s status on Friday, 02-Jan-2026 11:18:21 JST RadicalCartoons

     in reply to

     • Derb of the Swamplands
     • EatKnitSleep2
     @EatKnitSleep2 @KeepTakingTheSoma @Derb This is why most people don't risk it.
     KeepTakingTheSoma likes this.
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     KeepTakingTheSoma (keeptakingthesoma@spinster.xyz)'s status on Friday, 02-Jan-2026 11:18:22 JST KeepTakingTheSoma

     in reply to

     • RadicalCartoons
     • Derb of the Swamplands
     @RadicalCartoons @Derb I have the pleasure of being self employed.
     I also have a friend who is exploring how not to pay council tax. There looks like an interesting loophole in how the council is structured that could be used.
     I'll keep everyone updated.
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     EatKnitSleep2 (eatknitsleep2@spinster.xyz)'s status on Friday, 02-Jan-2026 11:18:22 JST EatKnitSleep2

     in reply to

     • RadicalCartoons
     • Derb of the Swamplands
     @KeepTakingTheSoma @RadicalCartoons @Derb There's a woman on fb who advises people on refusing to pay bills and taxes.
     
     It's a tempting idea but reminds me too much of free man on the land stuff, which can sound convincing to some until they end up getting their arses handed to them in court.
     KeepTakingTheSoma likes this.
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     KeepTakingTheSoma (keeptakingthesoma@spinster.xyz)'s status on Friday, 02-Jan-2026 11:18:24 JST KeepTakingTheSoma

     in reply to

     • RadicalCartoons
     • Derb of the Swamplands
     • EatKnitSleep2
     @RadicalCartoons @EatKnitSleep2 @Derb Now if I earned enough to employ an accountant, I could get him to *move* my money somewhere warm . . .
   • Embed this notice
     RadicalCartoons (radicalcartoons@spinster.xyz)'s status on Friday, 02-Jan-2026 22:52:01 JST RadicalCartoons

     in reply to

     • Derb of the Swamplands
     • EatKnitSleep2
     @KeepTakingTheSoma @EatKnitSleep2 @Derb I employ an accountant (always have, been self employed for 46 yrs, including when I worked PAYE).
     Since HMRC went fully online, I found the annual declaration process too complicated.
     (It was much easier back in the day, when you had your own personal civil servant, and went to see them in rl every year).
     
     The current one, who is local, charges me £80 per year. The peace of mind he brings me is worth every penny.
     
     I will continue to employ him in my OAP years, because they understand when you have different (and strange) income streams.
     It's not about cheating HMRC, it's about making sure YOU are declaring things properly, so HMRC treat you fairly.
     
     Strange income streams eg, being paid in vouchers for work by a national charity: Income or gifts??
     
     Being on the payroll of the NHS as a "volunteer" with no paye, no paid time off or pension contributions (= a self-employed contractor but with no contract), and because we're not employees, we wouldn't get their union representation or whistleblower protection. What's that all about eh?!
     (If you were to say, its about the NHS meeting their national inclusion obligations on the cheap, you'd be right)!
     
     Without my accountant's help I would be confused about what does and does not count as "income". Or what I can & can't use as a tax break.
     
     For example the Labour government abolished the tax break for working-at-home employees, this comes into force in April 2026.
     (I feel sorry for those remote workers whose employers closed their workplaces and gave them no choice. Hope they get some compensation from their bosses).
     This will hit disabled employees who work at home for employers out of necessity.
     
     (It's almost like "Labour" hates working people, isn't it)?
     
     But this tax break IS still in place for the self-employed who work from home!
     That's the sort of thing an accountant can sort out for you.
     
     Autumn Budget: Work-From-Home Relief Abolished From April 2026 - Merranti Accounting https://share.google/yWRLUIO1nQ2Lu9BTN
     KeepTakingTheSoma likes this.
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     KeepTakingTheSoma (keeptakingthesoma@spinster.xyz)'s status on Friday, 02-Jan-2026 23:34:59 JST KeepTakingTheSoma

     in reply to

     • RadicalCartoons
     • Derb of the Swamplands
     • EatKnitSleep2
     @RadicalCartoons @EatKnitSleep2 @Derb I've got an accountant as well. He does my returns in exchange for some private tutoring I do for his kids.
     I was thinking of the super rich, the ones whose money enjoys the sunnier climes of the tax havens so they can lecture the rest of us on why we should enjoy the increase our taxes to pay for their pet causes.
     But it does pose an interesting idea.
     Taxes are theft. We all know they're not going to pay for any public service, but they are paying for a lot of public servants, most of them useless. All governments do is compound the theft by adding threats for non-compliance. It is little more than a protection racket.
     We also know our taxes are being used to fight wars that we do not consent to because we know said wars are manufactured to fund the war machine. Then our taxes are used to combat the refugee problem caused by the wars they started.
     We also know that our government is engaged in people smuggling.
     These are just a few reasons why we have a case that our taxes are being used to illegal purposes and that we could be committing a crime by giving them money.
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     GNU Too (gnu2@gnusocial.jp)'s status on Saturday, 03-Jan-2026 02:10:15 JST GNU Too

     in reply to
     @KeepTakingTheSoma the problem is these aren't illegal purposes they are specifically authorized by the politicians.
     KeepTakingTheSoma likes this.
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     KeepTakingTheSoma (keeptakingthesoma@spinster.xyz)'s status on Saturday, 03-Jan-2026 03:30:34 JST KeepTakingTheSoma

     in reply to

     • GNU Too
     @gnu2 Just because a politician does it, doesn't make it illegal. It just means that they passed a law to make it ok when they do it.
     We are governed by criminals.