Unless you want the IRS to hunt you down, paying your taxes is a no-brainer. But what if you ran a secret, illegal restaurant in your backyard and haven’t paid a dime of taxes for years? Well, one particularly honest yet dangerously uneducated resident of Indiana has spilled the beans on their underground business on Reddit. They claim to have started meals after the pandemic caused them to lose their job.
Now, the operation has turned into a “full-blown, sit-down restaurant” in their backyard with six employees. They openly state that they “haven’t paid taxes since 2021.” But now, they “want to make their business legit and squash any trouble they have with the IRS.” A bold statement to make, for sure, albeit a bit late. What caused them to come to this realization, you might ask? Their neighbor said that their income would likely be seized and that they’d go to jail since it’s an illegal business, so they’re “better off not paying.”
The Restaurant Owner Might Be in for a Bad Time Once They ‘Go Legit’
Not the best advice, but it seemed to have woken this covert restaurant owner up, as they now seek the guidance of Reddit. “From what I could find on Google, all income, no matter how it’s made, needs to be reported,” they state bluntly. “I will say this,” the top-upvoted commenter remarks in response. “If this is an illegal establishment, then you have some damn good neighbors. All it takes to screw you is one bad neighbor.” They further add that if this business owner chooses to “go legit,” they’ll have a load of fines and legal fees to pay, as well as the risk of being shut down.
If you’re wondering how they’ve been keeping the neighbors quiet, they were even honest about that: “I’ve been bribing my neighbors with free food lol.” While it’s a little funny, for sure, one person quickly told the Indiana resident to stop the honesty and get to figuring out what they should do. “OP, you’ve already said way too much here. Lawyer up and stop talking about the $.”
It seems like they didn’t understand the severity of the situation they’re in, as they remarked with the reply, “How f**ked would you say I am?” “This way beyond the scope of Reddit, Pal,” a concerned user told OP. They went on to suggest preparing for all the risks involved with making their business legal, as well as recommending that they take business classes. After all, OP did state multiple times that neither they nor their parents are business-savvy. Still, nothing will likely spare them from the wrath of the IRS or local authorities, so hopefully, they make things right before they dig themselves deeper than they already are.
