This is so true is fucking sad.

My sister got married and had a family pretty young and she never entered the workforce or went to college. Her husband makes enough to keep the lights on so she stayed home with the kids. Once the kids stated school she decided to start a craft/Etsy/consignment/E-bay business from her home just to make a little extra cash. And within a year she was doing good. She made $45,000 in sales her second year and ~$35,000 profit.

When she filed taxes she had to pay over $13,000 between city, state, and federal. She didn't realize it would be so high and didn't have enough to pay, she took some late penalties and other hits. And since December was here big month, and January - March were very slow, she wasn't making enough to pay the IRS.

It took her almost the entire next year to pay off the entire tax debt, and she was also paying quarterly for the current year with estimated taxes.

Then Christmas that year was a bust and she didn't make very nearly as much as she did the year before. In the end, she worked the entire year and barely saw any money at all.

She decided to stop the business, and a few months later she applied for a Bridge Card (Michigan SNAP) and now receives $260 a month in food stamps.

So she went from owing a business and making $45,000 a year in sales to food stamps in 18 months.

I know for a fact that taxes and the IRS were the tipping point. Not only the amount of money you need to pay them, but also the way they treat you. It's sad.

If taxes were simple, easy, and reasonable, she would still be making her shit and selling it. But they are complicated and absurd, and it pushes people out of self-employment.

It's fucked up that it is easier to get welfare in the US than it is to start a business.