

Avoid Payroll Tax with Mailboxes, Etc? - payrollquestion

Hi Fellow Hackers,<p>I just landed a killer telecommute job and my home city enforces a ridiculous payroll tax.  This will end up costing me over $2000 per year.<p>However, the county directly adjacent to the county I live in does not have a payroll tax.  I'm considering getting a Mailboxes, Etc box in a nearby city without payroll taxes and using that address for payroll purposes.<p>First of all, does anyone out there do this and get away with it?<p>If so, did you change your legal address for all purposes or did you just use the mailbox address for payroll purposes?<p>Are there any other caveats I should be aware of?
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cscotta
I'm not a CPA or lawyer, but am almost absolutely positive that these taxes
are applied based on your residential address. Attempting to cheat (get
around, avoid, evade, what have you) taxes is almost universally a Bad Idea
(speaking as someone who's been audited - though came out owing nothing).

Regardless of whether they seem onerously high, communities pass payroll taxes
to generate essential revenue, and people vote on / for them. In that sense,
these taxes can be understood as something a community has proposed and agreed
to pay. Attempting to circumvent this agreement (the law) by setting up a sham
address that's nothing more than a PO box isn't just shady - it's unethical
and deprives the city of revenue its residents have agreed to pay and deemed
essential for municipal operations.

If I'm mistaken, feel free to correct me, but legal or not, I would still not
attempt this.

