HELP: Avoiding taxes and escaping the system

Brother_Karl · #1 02-07-2011, 03:52 AM

Hey guys.

Right. In order to avoid paying government protection money and so I dont have to work 24/7 (in my supermarket) just to get by like basically everyone who I know does, I was going to take a tent to the national park near where I am currently stationed and live the rest of my life out there.

I will be right near the town so I will be able to access showers at the local swimming pool (for a price), several free water supplies, computers at the library, the hospital, my work and the dry cleaners. I will still be near family but obviously what I am planning to do is something that they will not understand and will not immediately accept. I will take a lockable suitcase lined with heavy stuff (perhaps bricks) to put my clothes in so they dont get stolen when I leave them behind in the tent.

I am going to have a 'try out week', during the Summer, with my best friend. This is something that I will, at first, present as a camping trip to my family, so I wont have any trouble moving my stuff up there.

I have yet to work out the costs in great detail but it seems that I can get away with working only one or two (or maybe three at the very most) days a week for the rest of my life.

I was wondering if you guys could do me a favour and pick holes in this plan. Please be as harsh as possible. I also would like to know what you guys think about it. Thanks!

merrylander · #2 02-07-2011, 06:41 AM

Given the climate change you would likely freeze your tushy off.

Charles · #3 02-07-2011, 08:22 AM

Sounds to me like it's gonna get old real fast. I'd come up with a more ambitious plan.

Chas

finnbow · #4 02-07-2011, 08:31 AM

If by government protection money you mean taxes, you'll still have to pay them. Playing boy scout doesn't make you immune to taxes. I like the woods and camping as much as the next guy and actually spent two whole summers in a tent while working at a scout camp. What you're doing sounds fun enough when you're still young and free, but the fun won't last long IMHO.

whell · #5 02-07-2011, 08:56 AM

Hope you enjoy celibacy. The babes tend not to dig it when their man lives in a tent in the park...

...unless you also aim to start a commune in the park.

Brother_Karl · #6 02-07-2011, 09:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Charles

Sounds to me like it's gonna get old real fast.

Why?

Quote:

Originally Posted by finnbow

If by government protection money you mean taxes, you'll still have to pay them.

I'm pretty sure I wont have to. I'll only be working part time and they dont tax you if you dont work full time.

Quote:

Originally Posted by merrylander

Given the climate change you would likely freeze your tushy off.

I wouldnt have to stay there during the day, at least. Over night I'm sure I'll be able to wrap up warm enough.

Quote:

Originally Posted by whell

Hope you enjoy celibacy. The babes tend not to dig it when their man lives in a tent in the park...

Doesnt bother me. And, also, I'm sure some girls wouldnt mind it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by whell

...unless you also aim to start a commune in the park.

This is a future possibility which would likely cause problems but its not something that I'm thinking about right now.

Charles · #7 02-07-2011, 10:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brother_Karl

Why?

I'm pretty sure I wont have to. I'll only be working part time and they dont tax you if you dont work full time.

I wouldnt have to stay there during the day, at least. Over night I'm sure I'll be able to wrap up warm enough.

Doesnt bother me. And, also, I'm sure some girls wouldnt mind it.

This is a future possibility which would likely cause problems but its not something that I'm thinking about right now.

I lived in a tent camper for awhile, so I have an idea of what I speak.

It's hot in the summer, cold in the winter, tents leak, they're full of bugs, big storms tend to destroy them, even the camper with a table and booths wore a flat spot on your ass, cooking is primitive, the bathroom facilities are primitive...it's just a primitive way to live.

Why not just purchase a small parcel of land and build a well insulated small house? Taxes and utilities will be cheap, and you'll be far more comfortable.

But don't let me ruin your fun. After you find a snake in your sleeping bag, or a bumblebee stings you on your lip early in the morning, or the whole shebang collapses in a downpour, then you can view rejoining society in a different light.

Even a week at fishing camp, where the cabins have all of the comforts of home (besides a telephone or wireless access) is about all I can stand at one time.

My old bones miss my easy chair.

Chas

Brother_Karl · #8 02-07-2011, 10:43 AM

Some of you guys seem to think that I live in the Americas. I dont. I live on a European island which has very mild weather and non-dangerous wildlife. I also am NOT going to be in the middle of nowhere. I am going to a area above a town which has public places with free running water, free public toilets, a free library and shops.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlueStreak

Part timers don't pay taxes in England? At all? They do here.

I work part time now and I dont get taxed.

BlueStreak · #9 02-07-2011, 11:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brother_Karl

Some of you guys seem to think that I live in the Americas. I dont. I live on a European island which has very mild weather and non-dangerous wildlife. I also am NOT going to be in the middle of nowhere. I am going to a area above a town which has public places with free running water, free public toilets, a free library and shops.

I work part time now and I dont get taxed.

Nothing is "free". The English taxpayer bought those toilets, libraries, etc., etc... And, if you use them without doing your part to help pay for them, what does that make you? Do you think your fellow Englishmen who work hard and pay their taxes would appreciate that?

Not trying to be adversarial, just offering you some "food for thought".

Dave

finnbow · #10 02-07-2011, 11:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brother_Karl

Some of you guys seem to think that I live in the Americas. I dont. I live on a European island which has very mild weather and non-dangerous wildlife. I also am NOT going to be in the middle of nowhere. I am going to a area above a town which has public places with free running water, free public toilets, a free library and shops.

You'll be a real hit at the pubs.

I can't help but remark on the irony of "escaping the system" while remaining close to publically funded running water, toilets, libraries and shops. As Dave noted, what you describing is considered by many (or most) people a vagrant, something that most don't consider admirable or desirable.

FWIW, while travelling through the UK with my girlfriend years ago, we dropped in her eccentric uncle's place at Freathy Cliff in Cornwall. He was off the grid, using windpower to charge a battery bank in his cliffside abode high above the ocean. All of his essentials (stereo, TV, lighting, etc.) were battery powered and I think he used propane for cooking. He had amazing ingenuity and had quite a comfortable existence.

I'm with Chas. Save some money, buy a small plot of land and build a cabin. Unless you have the requisite skills/experience, you won't last but a couple of miserable, rainsoaked weeks in your tent.