Tax issue

I seem to recall many times the government does not have enough evidence to make a case about prostitution, extortion, money laundering, etc., but then is able to nail someone on tax evasion. Do most online poker 'pros' declare their income? If so, do you get an actual document from the online site ? As someone just taking a wild guess, i guessed 25 -50. That would leave a lot of people at risk from the IRS.

Over 90% of online pros declare their income to the IRS.

Quote: SOOPOO

I seem to recall many times the government does not have enough evidence to make a case about prostitution, extortion, money laundering, etc., but then is able to nail someone on tax evasion. Do most online poker 'pros' declare their income? If so, do you get an actual document from the online site ? As someone just taking a wild guess, i guessed 25 -50. That would leave a lot of people at risk from the IRS.

I'm sure everyone properly pays all there taxes on online winnings and live winnings. To answer your question though, no online site that I'm aware of issues any type of document, 1099, W2, etc.

I would expect a number of real pros to find the combination of tax and legal issues sufficient to make it worthwhile leaving the country. Plenty of people in other businesses flee their home country in search of more favourable taxation. It seems a little crazy to me when you have a perfectly mobile business to stay in the US.

The cost of living in the UK is high, particularly housing in the London area, but with earned income (i.e. non-gambling) tax rates now up to 50% (above £150k) and zero on gambling, it makes no sense for me to get a job - I'd need to earn over £250k/year, which would require a good few years of ass-kissing and 12 hour days.