Greg Broiles wrote:
If you were on a jury, and you heard a defendant testify that they worked at a job site (either as an employee or a contractor) for years without ever being paid, and that they managed to maintain a lifestyle consistent with full-time work without ever receiving taxable income (whether as wages or dividends or interest or ..), and that the HR/personnel/AP people who testified that the defendant had been paid were mistaken or lying .. would you believe that testimony?
Suppose that a computer consultant Mr. X knows cryptography so well that his clients are willing to pay him $100/hr. Mr. X could conspire with his client that he receives only $40/hr in taxable income, and the rest he gets in form of digital cash. If X lives sufficiently modestly, the IRS will be having hard times getting him convicted. And really, what's the point in spending all this money anyway? The more money one spends after a certain level, the more time one wastes. - Igor.