Oh Yeah...That Sword Of Damocles

Can I get a PRN of Xanax?

So I was cruisin' down the Memory Lane of past blog posts...an activity I do more and more frequently now since I'm feeling more and more nostalgic the older I get, and I come across a series of posts related to something many people, except for me, are dealing with this time of year: filing their taxes.

If you remember, I don't have too great a track record when it comes to filing tax returns. Um. Not a good track record at all.

As I detail in this post and this one a few years later, I actually am somewhat of a, how shall I put it, um, tax evader. Gulp.

The previous posts hyperlinked above try to explain the rationale and, in the second post, the now apparently re-forgotten consequences for my actions of the past, ehem, 15 years or so. But the real question, or should I say questions, going forward are:

Do I really believe the shit that was exposed by that e-file in '12 has just "disappeared" since I haven't experienced any further communication from the IRS? I mean they had my Bellagio address that I've properly forwarded with USPS during the move back in October. They'd know how to find me.

I still haven't filed in any year after that scare for fear I'd stimulate some more gung-ho IRS rep to take more aggressive measures. So the second question is...when, if ever, will I file again? Every year I don't only makes the debt grow and also makes for a weaker case if I wanted to come off as just a negligent filer. This continued defiance smacks of a determined flaunting of the system.

Here's a timeline of my filing status over the past decade and a half:

Listed by tax year. y=filed, n=didn't file

99y
00n
01n
02n
03n
04n
05n
06n
07n
08y
09y*
10y*
11y(first (and last?) eFile)
12n
13n
14n

*=filed with fudged figures

I feel the flames of the burning sword above me and wonder what will cut the tendril that keeps it suspended, for now, harmlessly dangling there.