Topic: The Murder of George Floyd and Black Lives Matter.

[Machae]

I also think the reason taxes are a ball ache in America is the faff that goes with it all. The IRS already know what you earn or have earnt (generally speaking), but lobby groups have made it difficult and without these so called specialists, it can be difficult

[Chakan]

I also think the reason taxes are a ball ache in America is the faff that goes with it all. The IRS already know what you earn or have earnt (generally speaking), but lobby groups have made it difficult and without these so called specialists, it can be difficult

Doesn't help that every state has different laws either. Anyway now we're going way off this topic.

[PaulF]

Sorry to keep it off topic, but do all tax payers in the US file a return? Unlike in the UK where I assume most people pay their taxes via paye and don't need to file.  One of the side effects of the means testing of child benefit is the need for far more people to file a return.
Not related to the topic, or really the off topic discussion, just curious. From telly it feels like most Americans have an axxoubtent a lawyer.

[reddebs]

You couldn't make this shit up as it's just so normal to them they don't even realise they do it.

Millions again wasted on an "action group' to tackle racism that doesn't think they need input from ethnic minorities 🤷

BBC News - Police initiative to tackle racism accused of being racist

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-65708552

[AndyInVA]

Sorry to keep it off topic, but do all tax payers in the US file a return? Unlike in the UK where I assume most people pay their taxes via paye and don't need to file.  One of the side effects of the means testing of child benefit is the need for far more people to file a return.
Not related to the topic, or really the off topic discussion, just curious. From telly it feels like most Americans have an axxoubtent a lawyer.

Good question. Short answer is that everyone has to file a return.
A decent sized portion of the population have one job and the employer sends in their taxes every pay period. At the end of the year, every employer sends a statement to the employee and the IRS saying how much that person made from the employer. If you have one employer then it is reasonably easy, but not that easy, to do it yourself. If it is a simple tax return then you can pay $50 or so to get someone to do it. Some charities also do it for free for poorer people who find it hard to navigate the return.
If you have a side gig, or a small company then you really need a cheaper accountant. Larger companies need expensive accountants.
But yes, everyone has to file a return but not everyone uses an accountant.

[Jiminy Cricket]

Good question. Short answer is that everyone has to file a return.
A decent sized portion of the population have one job and the employer sends in their taxes every pay period. At the end of the year, every employer sends a statement to the employee and the IRS saying how much that person made from the employer. If you have one employer then it is reasonably easy, but not that easy, to do it yourself. If it is a simple tax return then you can pay $50 or so to get someone to do it. Some charities also do it for free for poorer people who find it hard to navigate the return.
If you have a side gig, or a small company then you really need a cheaper accountant. Larger companies need expensive accountants.
But yes, everyone has to file a return but not everyone uses an accountant.

Actually, you do not need to file a return if your income for the tax year was low. The precise cut-off amount varies according to circumstances.

https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/who-needs-to-file-a-tax-return

But there are some good reasons why it still might be advisable to file a return.

[AndyInVA]

Actually, you do not need to file a return if your income for the tax year was low. The precise cut-off amount varies according to circumstances.

https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/who-needs-to-file-a-tax-return

But there are some good reasons why it still might be advisable to file a return.

Didn’t know that.  Thanks. Makes sense really as at that income level it would be a real pain to get a return filled out properly.

[Barneylfc∗]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-67529163

Minneapolis ex-police officer Derek Chauvin, convicted in the murder of George Floyd, has been stabbed at an Arizona prison, US media reports say.

A source told AP the 47-year-old was seriously injured by another inmate.

The New York Times, citing two people with knowledge of the situation, also reported that he was attacked.

Chauvin, who is white, is serving multiple sentences for the black man's death, which triggered huge protests against police brutality and racism.

The Bureau of Prisons confirmed in a statement that an inmate at a federal prison in the city of Tucson was stabbed at 12:30 local time (19:30 GMT) on Friday.

The agency said employees contained the incident and "life-saving measures" were performed on the inmate, who was then taken to hospital. The name of the prisoner was not given.

Nobody else is thought to have been injured and Chauvin is reported to have survived the attack.

The reported incident comes days after the Supreme Court rejected his appeal, in which it was argued that he had not received a fair trial for the killing of Mr Floyd - who died after Chauvin knelt on his neck for more than nine minutes in 2020.

The killing - captured on a bystander's phone camera - sparked global outrage and a wave of demonstrations against racial injustice and police use of force.

Chauvin was later found guilty of Mr Floyd's murder and sentenced to 22 years in prison. He was given a further 20-year sentence in July 2022 for violating Mr Floyd's civil rights.

[thejbs]

Manny Ellis’s murderers found not guilty on all charges. Based on what I’d read about this to date, this would appear to be a massive injustice but typical of US police are literally getting away with murder.

[John C]

I don't remember this jb, I'll have to look in to it.

[thejbs]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killing_of_Manuel_Ellis

The key difference between this and George Floyd is that there wasn’t the same amount of footage. The cops that were charged are the very definition of unconvincing. They changed their stories, contradicted each other, lied (until caught out by recordings they didn’t realise existed); the department withheld information from both the coroner (who concluded homicide) and prosecution; the car that Ellis allegedly tried to car jack has never been found nor has a driver come forward (trained cops didn’t get a plate either). The defence was that the meth in his system caused his death, yet the coroner said this was not the case.

And yet a jury unanimously found them not guilty. Can’t get my head around it.

Spoiler

9 of the jury were white. two were black.

[close]

[John C]

Yep, got it, thanks. It also triggered memories of a young black lad shot in a car park for NOT resisting arrest. Where are they all up to!
Horrific.