Is this tax evasion....

[IlsePMB]

I do the payroll at my firm, so my boss asked me to make some changes. His wife is currently unemployed and he asked that I should change his salary structure so that he gets paid half and then load his wife onto the payroll and pay her the other half. This way he will pay less tax. His wife is not employed by our firm and when I suggested that we maybe employ her, he was uninterested in this idea. I know this is not legal, but it eats away at my soul. How is this okay in the eyes of a Christian man to do a thing like this or am I missing something.... For me a lie is a lie, even when one lies to your government by tweaking the paperwork, it is still lying. I would appreciate some other opinions on this topic.

 

[JackRT]

If it is not legal in your jurisdiction then, yes, it is tax evasion. However income splitting is legal in some circumstances in some jurisdictions. Best to check with a tax expert.

 

[Albion]

You're right, Ilse. What he wants is probably illegal, would possibly implicate you, and might be noticed when boss files his income tax return. It does not seem to me that he'd save terribly much in taxes by doing this, however, if they file a join return. You'll have to show her as an employee, won't you, even if she doesn't render any services? In this country that would mean additional unemployment taxes, Social Security taxes, and more. But you're the expert on this, not me, and it's a different country.

If he isn't moved by any of that and won't tell his own payroll person why he thinks his idea is OK, you're in a bind.

But that isn't what you asked. You asked about his moral standards. Alas, there are people who don't live up to their professed religious beliefs and don't seem to care about it.

 

[IlsePMB]

Thank you JackRT and Albion. It is illegal in my country to split income this way and spouses are seen as two entities if married out of community of property. Jesus makes it clear that we need to pay the amount of taxes that are due. I cannot imagine that He would be okay with the idea that people should falsify paperwork to pay less taxes.

 

[eldios]

I do the payroll at my firm, so my boss asked me to make some changes. His wife is currently unemployed and he asked that I should change his salary structure so that he gets paid half and then load his wife onto the payroll and pay her the other half. This way he will pay less tax. His wife is not employed by our firm and when I suggested that we maybe employ her, he was uninterested in this idea. I know this is not legal, but it eats away at my soul. How is this okay in the eyes of a Christian man to do a thing like this or am I missing something.... For me a lie is a lie, even when one lies to your government by tweaking the paperwork, it is still lying. I would appreciate some other opinions on this topic.

Many Christians cheat on their taxes like your boss is doing. As long as you don't get caught by the IRS agents when the come with an audit, you will be just fine. My ex-wife was an IRS agent so I learned a lot about how they operate. They're mostly interested in unreported income so if your boss is hiding profits from the IRS and gets caught, that is a much more serious situation. He could go to prison for a few years doing that. So as long as your boss has everything documented, he should be okay.

 

[OldWiseGuy]

Tell your boss that you are very uncomfortable with this change and urge him to reconsider. If he insists ask him if he would fire you if you refuse.

 

[jayem]

I'm no expert, but I don't think she'd have to be on the books as an employee. She could be paid as an independent contractor. Maybe a consultant of some sort. Her fee would be debited as a business expense for purchased services. Nothing would be withheld, she would not be eligible for benefits, and she would be responsible for paying her taxes. Of course, for it to be legal, she should provide some legitimate business-related service to the company, and a formal contract specifying her duties and compensation would need to be executed. But it's still pretty sketchy to pay your wife as a contractor.

 

[Ana the Ist]

I do the payroll at my firm, so my boss asked me to make some changes. His wife is currently unemployed and he asked that I should change his salary structure so that he gets paid half and then load his wife onto the payroll and pay her the other half. This way he will pay less tax. His wife is not employed by our firm and when I suggested that we maybe employ her, he was uninterested in this idea. I know this is not legal, but it eats away at my soul. How is this okay in the eyes of a Christian man to do a thing like this or am I missing something.... For me a lie is a lie, even when one lies to your government by tweaking the paperwork, it is still lying. I would appreciate some other opinions on this topic.

Yeah, it looks like tax evasion to me...certainly the sort of thing that will get him in trouble if he gets audited.

You can report him anonymously to the IRS...but why do that? You've got yourself a bargaining chip next time you want to talk about that pay raise...or if he threatens to fire you. Plus, I'm pretty sure the IRS will give you a percentage of the sum they collect if he does get audited....just ask them!

 

[Earatha]

I do the payroll at my firm, so my boss asked me to make some changes. His wife is currently unemployed and he asked that I should change his salary structure so that he gets paid half and then load his wife onto the payroll and pay her the other half. This way he will pay less tax. His wife is not employed by our firm and when I suggested that we maybe employ her, he was uninterested in this idea. I know this is not legal, but it eats away at my soul. How is this okay in the eyes of a Christian man to do a thing like this or am I missing something.... For me a lie is a lie, even when one lies to your government by tweaking the paperwork, it is still lying. I would appreciate some other opinions on this topic.

It won't change how much tax he pays so long as they file married filing jointly. It MIGHT reduce their tax burden if they file separately, but unless they itemize deductions it won't.

 

[JoeP222w]

I do the payroll at my firm, so my boss asked me to make some changes. His wife is currently unemployed and he asked that I should change his salary structure so that he gets paid half and then load his wife onto the payroll and pay her the other half. This way he will pay less tax. His wife is not employed by our firm and when I suggested that we maybe employ her, he was uninterested in this idea. I know this is not legal, but it eats away at my soul. How is this okay in the eyes of a Christian man to do a thing like this or am I missing something.... For me a lie is a lie, even when one lies to your government by tweaking the paperwork, it is still lying. I would appreciate some other opinions on this topic.

I don't know the legal status of it, but it is clearly unethical to designate pay to someone who does not actually work for the company. You need to report this to your HR immediately.

I think, although I am not certain, if your company is a federal contractor, this can easily be a federal offense. Do not go down that road.

If your boss claims to be a Christian, you need to graciously and respectfully challenge him on this at your next opportunity. If he does not correct himself, you need to report it to HR immediately, or you are putting your own job in jeopardy, and maybe even jail time for yourself. Why risk it?

 

[Mountainmanbob]

I would appreciate some other opinions on this topic.

It's against the law.
It's sad that even Christians at times will choose sin.
Can we sin too much and possibly be a false conversion?
Could be a sign that one is deceived.
M-Bob

 

[SPF]

If you added his wife to payroll, then that means she's a W2 employee, right? Which means that she is going to have to file taxes and pay taxes. He may be reducing his taxes by having his wife receive a paycheck, but it shouldn't actually be by that much assuming she's going to file herself at the end of the year.

And if he's the employer, then he has to pay FICA taxes on her income, so I don't know that he's actually saving anything.

If he really wanted to cheat the system he should pay her as a 1099 employee and then not file and hope he doesn't get audited =X

 

[Hank77]

I do the payroll at my firm, so my boss asked me to make some changes. His wife is currently unemployed and he asked that I should change his salary structure so that he gets paid half and then load his wife onto the payroll and pay her the other half. This way he will pay less tax. His wife is not employed by our firm and when I suggested that we maybe employ her, he was uninterested in this idea. I know this is not legal, but it eats away at my soul. How is this okay in the eyes of a Christian man to do a thing like this or am I missing something.... For me a lie is a lie, even when one lies to your government by tweaking the paperwork, it is still lying. I would appreciate some other opinions on this topic.

I see that you do not live in the US so our tax laws do not pertain to you and your boss.
However, I'll just say that there may be other reasons why your boss wants to show that he personally has a lower income than he does that may not have anything to do with lowering his taxes.

Edit: I agree that a lie is a lie and cheating is cheating. Personally I would start looking for another job.