Did you make money from theft, bribes or selling drugs last year? The IRS wants you to report it
SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — It’s tax season in the United States leaving many Americans to try and sort through the mess of W-2s and 1099s.
Making sure you report every bit of your income to the Internal Revenue Service – more commonly known as the IRS – can be a daunting task. Thankfully, the IRS has a handy list of income you need to report from taxable alimony to selling illegal drugs.
That’s right. Among the list of income the IRS asks you to report when you file your taxes is any income you receive from illegal activities.
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“Income from illegal activities, such as money from dealing illegal drugs, must be included in your income on Schedule 1 (Form 1040), line 8z, or on Schedule C (Form 1040) if from your self-employment activity,” the IRS website reads.
The IRS also asks taxpayers to report any stolen property’s full market value as income in the year they stole it, unless, of course, they return the stolen goods to their rightful owner. Bribes should also be included in your reportable income. The only time monetary gains are not required to be included in your taxable income is when it’s exempted by law, which famously does not include illegally earned money.
Notably, the FBI convicted notorious crime boss and mobster Al Capone on tax evasion crimes for not paying taxes on his illegally-obtained riches. Calpone ran a bootlegging crime syndicate during the height of the Prohibition Era of the 1920s. According to an account of Al Capone’s trial from the University of Missouri-Kansas City, Capone’s syndicate was grossing an estimated $105 million a year, but no income tax return had ever been filed in his name.
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A few years before Capone’s conviction, the U.S. Supreme Court had ruled against another bootlegger, Manley Sullivan, who failed to file a return showing the profits from his illegal schemes. While U.S. Courts and prosecutors were unable to bring down Calpone’s empire on allegations of murder and bootlegging, they were able to topple it for not properly reporting his income.
“The IRS seems to have a knack for craving the drama in your life,” the Kaysville Police Department in Utah wrote on social media when sharing the revelation. “It’s as if they’ve set up shop with popcorn and a front-row seat, eagerly waiting for taxpayers to drop bombshells of financial intrigue.”
So, if you’re a hooligan worried about accurately reporting your income to the IRS to avoid the same tax evasion fate as Capone and Sullivan, the Kaysville Police Department can help. As part of their service to the community, Kaysville PD said they would be happy to help any taxpayer determine the fair market value of any stolen items or go over a spreadsheet of drug sales.
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