Here’s a story from France of government officials sending a tax demand letter to a deceased woman. If that wasn’t bad enough, they sent the letter to her grave’s address! Any thing for a buck, Am I right? The mayor of the seaside town of Sarzeau said he had received a letter from the public finance offices to a dead resident, addressed to “grave 24, row E, cemetery road,” his secretary told AFP on Saturday. The town’s treasurer Christophe Libre told the Ouest France regional newspaper it was a demand for property taxes.
According to Constitution.com:
Just as our own mortality is inevitable, it’s equally sure that we will be met with many taxes throughout our lives. And when the bill comes due, the government doesn’t care whether you’re dead or alive. They don’t want any excuses. They just want their money. Rather, they want your money that they’ve claimed as their own.
Taxpayers are on the hook to pay their “fair share” even after death. Consider how the IRS handles student loan forgiveness after a debt holder dies. Let’s say a student racked up tens of thousands in student loan debt, but then died, leaving a sizable unpaid balance. The feds may forgive the debt, but the IRS views that forgiveness as taxable income. So it is not really forgiven. As if the government has anywhere to go? They want every penny, and they will make a law to get every penny. What do you think?