r/WouldIBeTheAhole • u/NPCNord • 8h ago
WIBTAH if I report my brother to the IRS?
Hello internet, I need advice on this totally hypothetical situation. I dont want bad karma but I also feel the need to report him. All names and ages are fake.
This is a long read and tw: mentioning abusive behavior.
Context!!! My brother, who ill call Ben, (30M) and I (24F), grew up not the best. A Father who was emotionally and sometimes physically abusive. And Mom who tried best but wasn't perfect either. They divorced when we were young-ish, but I had deal with the brunt of my father's abusive for a few years and then cut contact. (I could fill a book with what I experinced.) And our mom passed away a few years ago. I wont lie it, broke us. When she was sick, I wasn't there for them how I should've been but I was in an abusive relationship at the time which i eventually broke up with. I didnt know how to navigate everything but im okay now. My brother blamed me for everything, I think Ben still does till this day. Another big piece of context is that he was the golden child that could do no wrong but did a lot wrong. He also never grew up, has never left the house and used our mom, quite frankly everyone, for money. Ben only keep whoever around to use them or do favors for him. Just like our father.
Anywhooo, flash forward to today, my brother latched onto our basically step-father, Rick (66M). He is/was my mom's house high school sweetheart. (Yes i know that means my mom was like 40 when had me haha.) And they both live in our childhood home. Rick took over the mortgage with Ben. I moved out and started living with my boyfriend. And now Ben has been using Rick as well for money. He guilt trips Rick and claims he going to off him self if he doesnt figure how to get money. And then Rick feels bad for him and just pays whatever so they can keep afloat. I should also mention that Ben has a girlfriend, Izzy (28?F), who also lives him. Ben basically made impossible for her to work or even have a phone. I feel bad for the women but I have no way of contacting her. Or doing anything since I dont see anything. Ben and I havent spoken since last year. He lied to me about was wrong my car a few years ago (he a self made mechanic which yes he did know exactly what he was doing. Dude could have made a career out of it.) I sold the car to him for 400 bucks and he flipped it sold on Facebook marketplace for 3000.. Ben hasn't paid back money he owed me when we were teenagers. And Ben never paid for literally anything when we went on a vacation just a few months before stopped talking. So needless to say Ben didnt fall from the tree it comes to our father.. he just as abusive as he was.
Okay finally onto the main bit, Ben hasn't paid his taxes in Ten years. He owns his own business which is property care (lawncare, tree removal, etc). Would i be the a-word if I reported to the irs? Im scared what he'd do to me if he found out i report him. Im scared for Izzy and Rick's well-being but Rick is a combat vet and can hold his own. And Rick doesnt deserve anything of this. I also really dont want to mention to Rick that im thinking of doing this... any advise or thoughts on this matter would be appreciated, thank you for reading.
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u/BrokeTheSimulation 7h ago
Mind your own business. Everyone can speak up for themselves if they want to.
What do you wish to accomplish from this? It helps no one you mentioned. It will 100% come back that you reported this.
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u/Tarot_Reader_Vee 7h ago
I'm with you on this. I want to know the same thing, what does OP wish to accomplish? Is she trying to be a bitter Betty or does she actually care that he hasn't filed taxes? It just sounds like she's a bitter Betty.
Also, the post says this is all "a hypothetical situation" when it clearly isn't. It makes me wonder if this is even real. Who sits there and thinks to themselves, "I'm going to report my loser brother for not filing his taxes"?
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u/NPCNord 7h ago
Ill admit it, yes im bitter and yes sadly this is real. My brother has just hurt so many people and is using our step-dad for his money. He doesnt cares about him. Or anyone honestly. And its honestly not about the taxes, it about him facing consequences for his actions, for abusing izzy and manipulating our step-dad.
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u/Tarot_Reader_Vee 7h ago
Look, your stepdad is an adult. If he has a problem with your brother, he needs to approach it himself. This situation has nothing to do with you. If you were the one supporting your brother financially, sure but you're not. You need to just mind your business girl and just live your life. Eventually, life will catch up with your brother and when he falls, he'll fall hard and he won't have anyone to blame but himself.
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u/ChelleInSand 5h ago
All reporting him will do is make things harder on the people who support him. They will always bail him out. I’ve seen this dynamic in my family with my brother who has always been in and out of prison and never became an adult. My mom always paid for his fuckups, no matter what.
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u/anonymousdlm 8h ago
If you do report it, please report it to fraud.gov this is not just not paying his taxes, it’s literally stealing from all the rest of the taxpayers.
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u/Admirable-Goat-5087 7h ago
Compulsory unconsented taxation under threat of imprisonment is theft in the first place. The IRS has no right to anyone's money. If he's "stealing" what was going to be stolen from him, I'd say that puts him in the right on a moral scale.
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u/anonymousdlm 7h ago
Not according to current laws.
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u/Admirable-Goat-5087 7h ago
Current laws can go eat a giant wiener. Current laws also protect the Epstein class. If laws won't be enforced equally or at least against the most egregious violators, then they shouldn't be respected.
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u/goodbyetrex 8h ago
You’d need proof, and your proof would need to be untraceable in terms of your involvement.
If he uses Venmo, PayPal, Cash App, or something similar, you could report to app support that he is using a personal account for business, and is not paying taxes. Use an untraceable email address.
This happened to the guy who mows my lawn. His own bank froze his checking account when notified by Venmo. He had to create a business account & it was legally reported going forward.
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u/NPCNord 8h ago
He does actually use those apps. No sure the details if its business or personal. But thank you for the ideas!
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u/goodbyetrex 7h ago
If it’s a business it gets reported, but he can use his SSN instead of a business tax ID. Reporting could still get him audited.
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u/truth_fairy78 8h ago
Good luck. I had to call the IRS not long ago to sort something out and it took 4 tries of sitting on hold for hours before I got through. They don’t care.
Chances are he doesn’t owe much anyway. Business taxes are much more complicated and a lot of small businesses are operating at a loss just like the big corporations. I’d stay out of it unless you wanna torch your relationship with him for no reason.
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u/InAShensh 7h ago
Cut off all contact with him
He is as abusive as your bio dad and he is abusing his step dad and GF
I would report him but i would be afraid he would think it was the step dad and m*rder him
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u/Admirable-Goat-5087 7h ago
If you report him to the IRS (a legalized mafia), you are absolutely, unequivocally, no-grey-area, a monster asshole. Yes, under any circumstance, reporting someone to be fleeced by the IRS makes you the asshole.
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u/True_Turn_5286 7h ago
The IRS is a shell of what it once was. Report him. If you want to be an a-hole to him, start asking about retirement. If he gets SSI, it’ll be about $47 per month. He hasn’t been paying in. Ask him how his future looks? On stepdad dies, it’s not going to be pretty.
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u/Humble-Heart-5302 5h ago
NTA. you should report it and I believe the IRS will give you part of the back taxes owed if they do go after him
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u/RawMeatballz 8h ago
The IRS knows, they just dont care, there's a limit to reach before they investigate