I've read some things online that say you have to pay taxes for your revenue from your ads. What do I have to do so that I don't have the IRS at my door asking for money? Also, if I were to run an online lottery website ,(not free), would I have to pay taxes?
if it's income, it's taxable. pay your taxes and stop trying to stiff the government (the people, yourself) roads are maintained w/ tax money, police, etc....
Not trying to stiff the gov't. Just want to take the right steps to pay my share. Anyone got anything more in depth, and not "smart"?
I'm sure there are other taxes since my state uses much money from lotteries. I'll go consult a lawyer or accountant.
Yes that would be advisable. An accountant would be better for the taxes part, a lawyer would be better for the lottery. As some states say since it is a game of chance it is gambling, and in most states gambling is illegal. Now, with your ads, if your making less than $100 (don't quote that, its a number off the top of my head) you will not have to pay taxes on it, however, it will still have to be claimed as income. You can probably also use your webhosting fees as a business expense and deduction. However, that is for the federal law that I'm talking about, your state may have different rules for that one.
I'm in SC, but it's wierd. They have a no gambling law, but they have many lotteries setup. The main one being the state lottery.
Running lotteries online in the United States without government permission is illegal. That's why there are no tax laws on it.
Most states have a state lottery. Most states can't convict themselves lol. I did a quick google search and it pretty much said you can't set up a lottery or you are guilty of a misdemeanor, punishment of jail for a year and a fine of no more than $1000. I would advise doing this. You would also have to take into account federal law, and the laws of the state your server is located in.
As with all businesses, in order to operate, you need to have a certain license allowing you to perform certain functions relating and specific to that business. And the licensing requirements for each business vary depending on the licensing authority. For example, You want to sell real estate, you have to have broker or agent's license. You want to practice law, you have to be licensed by the state bar. You want to serve alcohol at a bar, you have to have a liquor license. You want to have a restaurant that serves food and wine, you have to have a beer and wine and other licenses to operate. You want to have a lottery, you have to get a license. There really isn't a difference between online and traditional bricks and mortar when it comes to licensing and tax requirements. Just because it's on the internet does not mean you are exempt from all the laws. You are still subjected to your applicable local, state, AND federal laws.
What if my host was on an offshore independent island? I'm sure there are some sort of law that includes where the lottery is "operated". Any insight though?
Would you be accessing your server from US soil? If you want a gaming license, you might want to check out Gibraltar. I was going to relocate to Gibraltar, start an online casino, with the understanding that I can never set foot back in the US again.
And will you be accepting US players? Do research on Calvin Ayre (Bodog), David Carruthers (BetOnSports), and HR 4411. Why do you supposed that all the online casinos are based out of the country on some obscure island? The US government takes gaming very seriously. I wouldn't mess around with the government.
Wow! The Bodog and BetOnSports things are really gay. WTF that really pisses me off, especially the Carruthers case. Does the guy actually live in the US? This is bullcrap, the government says that it plans to let the internet run itself, but it indirectly controls it. It's not really their job, but the UN should set broad regulations. How do all of those other lotteries operate? I know that in SC there are at least 6 different ones, and I'm pretty sure that all of those are not managed by the state. I will find a way around this.
No, you don't have to pay taxes. The government doesn't follow its own laws, why should you? There is no law that says you have to pay the income taxes, if you didn't get a 1099 then the IRS will never know you made the money. Don't go telling the government you're making money if they don't already know. The IRS will have to audit you in order to find out you didn't pay, and out of a country of over 300 million, the chances of you getting audited is low. Just don't pay the taxes, George W. Bush starts two wars in which hundreds of thousands die, he should be arrested for war crimes for breaking international and American law, but he will retire as a millionaire and get off scot free. Stop paying your taxes into a system that is dying. Ignore all these serfs in this thread who tell you to turn over your hard earned money to a government that is corrupt and out of control. The money from income taxes goes to pay the interest on our national debt, all the money Americans pay each year in income taxes can never pay off our national debt, so why pay? The government owes trillions for Social Security, yet there is nothing in Social Security and Americans who pay into it are getting screwed. This system is just one big scam that is designed to keep a few rich and the rest of poor. The income tax is the classic way of doing it. The U.S. national debt is over $50 trillion and can never be paid off. Nothing will change until the country has a massive economic collapse, which will likely cause massive civil unrest. Take my advice, avoid paying taxes and figure out a way to get your money out of the country. While you're at it, get out of the dying U.S. dollar and stockpile some silver and gold so you're not left holding worthless paper money when the dollar eventually collapses.
This isn't the Poltics and Religion forum, it's the Legal Issues forum. Your opinion doesn't matter. Not paying your taxes can get you in a ton of trouble including potential jail time.