When he wasn’t too busy trying to electrocute himself during thunderstorms, Benjamin Franklin once said one of the truest statements ever uttered by a human being: “In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.”
There are plenty of folks who will be quick to tell you that no matter what, you can’t escape the Internal Revenue Service, and trying to do so will ultimately only delay the inevitable. Although some claim they can help you skirt many of the rules set up by the IRS, it seems that the only uber-wealthy can attain these services.
TikToker Kyla Jazmine (@kylajazmine) has hopped online to remind people of this fact after a TikToker allegedly said they are protesting the U.S. government by not paying their taxes.
“I just saw a Caucasian woman get on this app and say paying your taxes is a moral decision and if you decide to pay them then you are saying that you consent to genocide and pedophilia,” Kyla says. The Daily Dot could not confirm the TikTok Kyla was talking about. “I just wanna say to my fellow people of color: pay Uncle Sam. Don’t play with Uncle Sam.”
She explains how “Uncle Sam” doesn’t play, and folks evading taxes will receive one letter in the mail as a warning before losing everything.
“I don’t know what they get away with because it was, it was multiple ones in her comments that were like I haven’t filed since 2015,” she says of the alleged TikToker’s video. “What? Because my thing is—one that is f*cking irresponsible. Two, they’re not worried? Why are you not worried?”
“Eventually it catches up to you,” she concludes. “And depending on how much money you actually make you just, you don’t wanna put yourself in that position. You don’t wanna put yourself in that position write off as much as you can, pay as little as you possibly can, but pay that man his money.”
She added in a caption for her video, “For the love of god, being financially responsible is sexy, PLEASE PAY YOUR TAXES.”
Some commenters remarked that while they thought a collective act of defiance from U.S. citizens would be a great way to let the government know they aren’t happy with the way things are being run, it’s not the way to go about it.
@kylajazmine for the love of god, being financially responsible is sexy, PLEASE PAY YOUR TAXES.
♬ original sound – kyla jazmine
One person wrote, “Not paying taxes would be a great protest, but we need safety nets and collective action first! Otherwise it’s just jeopardizing people’s lives.”
Another viewer stated that tax laws are enforced differently against non-white people.
“It’s not the same for us,” they wrote, something that Jazmine agreed with, replying, “It’s really not and I just needed to remind my people.”
According to the United States Sentencing Commission, 49% of all individuals charged with tax fraud were white, 30.3% were black, 12.7% Hispanic, and other races made up the other 8.1% of tax offenders.
One user agreed with Jazmine’s warning, writing, “Very few things scare me as much as the IRS.
Another wrote, “If there is one charge that WILL stick no matter what it is tax fraud. Only way they got Capone.”
The Daily Dot has reached out to the IRS via phone call message and Jazmine via email for comment.