Apparently it’s perfectly possible to owe the IRS tens of thousands, and then just make up debt and point to a random person telling the IRS to go after them… …and they will simply draft up a letter, demanding you to pay this outstanding, ficticious debt within two weeks.
What. The. Fuck.
I know the person who claims that I owe them 15k. It’s my weed dealer. I also know he has legal and financial issues, so I assume he somehow told his creditors that I owed him a lot of money, and there is no law requiring verification.
So… Either I pay 15k € I don’t actually owe, or I get a lawyer to dispute it, which will also be several thousands, none of which I am responsible for.
I’m not currently in debt but I also don’t have any savings.
I dunno man, it seems like in this world it’s just not possible to go a single year without being accused/hounded/… no one gives a fuck and everyone just wants “theirs”. Which would be fine if people would leave me alone and not try to get their grubby mitts on what little I do have.
Fuck.
UPDATE: called the tax office, they verified the letter was real. However… This is apparently SOP in case someone is delinquent on their taxes. The tax authority will simply “claim” these funds from EVERYONE who had any known dealings with this person.
Technically, the 15K is now ‘frozen’ and will remain so until I receive a new summons lifting the freeze order. However, in practice, I don’t have 15k worth of liquid assets, so the point is moot.
I now have to formally protest this garnishment in order to, so to speak, claim my innocence.
But their confirmation that this is regular SOP is quite chilling. They really DGAF as long as someone eventually ponies up.
Goddammit. I guess this is why the saying “death & taxes” exists.