Need to know basis

Tax Avoidance = GOOD. Tax Evasion = ILLEGAL

You may wonder why I have been coy about identifying the type of livestock I picked up a few days ago. 

For the most part, it is to not lay a trail of crumbs down that make it easy for the government to tax or control me. Most people are inherently lazy. They will make a show of doing their job. They will first go after the people who are flaunting their illegal activity. Then they will go after the low-hanging fruit.

Random factoid: The Inca Empire levied a tax of Head Lice on a very poor tribe that had no gold. The tax collectors did not want other villages to be encouraged to pursue the same tax-dodge. So the villagers had to constantly comb through their hair to collect enough head-lice to fill the required levy to be delivered twice a year.

Yes, governments can be that petty. 

I don't know where this was recorded 

In Michigan, tents, CONEX containers, storage pods and other "structures" that are rest on the surface and not attached to foundations are not liable to building codes. If you can pick it up and move it with a fork-truck, it is considered "personal property" and not a building

The man shown in the video was cited and fined by the county zoning commission based on footage shot from an aerial drone.

The man was lucky. The judge dismissed the case and vacated the fine when the county official admitted that they had not sent anybody to visit the site.

The judge called it an unconstitutional search because the drone data was collected and used "without probable cause". The entire case was poisoned by the county's inability to demonstrate that the structure met the definition of "building" that required a permit and the a priori issuing of fines assuming that it was.

Given how indescribably nosy the government is, wanting to know EVERY detail, and given their rapacious greed...why would I hand them any information on a silver platter. That would put me into the category of low-hanging fruit or giving the appearance of blatantly not-conforming to their "authority".

Tax Avoidance is GOOD!!!

Taxes are not "all about revenue". The tax code is often used to modify behaviors and to guide culture.

Owner-occupied housing is considered desirable because people tend to take better care of their home if they own it. Consequently, the US tax code allows individuals to "write-off" the interest they pay on a mortgage. That is a write-off that does not apply to virtually any other form of interest.

Agricultural land is considered desirable from the standpoint of national food security. The property tax rates on agricultural land is lower than on residential or industrial property.

From the standpoint of the citizen, the first dollars of government revenue are spent on the core tasks of government. The last dollars of revenue are spent on stupid, counterproductive and outlandish stuff as every department focuses on "burning out the bank" to ensure their funding is not reduced in the future. 

Bonus image

A rare photo of me and fellow blogger John Wilder