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Report your plunder
Chapter 12 of the Internal Revenue Service 2013 Federal Income Tax Guide for Individuals discusses “other taxable income,” such as pay for jury duty, rewards, prizes, etc., that must be reported on your Form 1040. Page 97 deals with “Stolen Property.” It states (and I am not making this up), “If you steal property, you must report its fair market value in your income in the year you steal it, unless in the same year, you return it to its rightful owner.”
I guess this means that the next time some crook breaks into your house and steals your jewelry, Xbox, iPad and pet poodle, he or she can also be arrested for not reporting it as taxable income. And, since our legislators never report the money that they pilfer from the pockets of the taxpaying public, it also appears that all incumbent politicians should be jailed for continually filing false returns to the IRS.
Dave Ayres
Spokane