Florida State Government: Creating Libertarians One at a Time
A Florida man spent $23 at the local hardware store, but noticed on his way home that the store forgot to charge him the state's sales tax. So when he got home, he (somewhat oddly) wrote a check to the state Department of Revenue to cover the tax.
He sent a check to the state for a dollar and 50 cents—with a full explanation. But the very next month—the agency demanded Scott pay a 50 dollar fine —because it thought he was a business—that failed to file tax returns.
Scott sent another letter to Tallahassee clearly stating that he was paying sales tax as a customer after a minor mistake. He thought that was the end of it. But far from it—the next month the revenue department insisted Scott was a business that had to pay a 650 dollar fine—or face collections —AND criminal charges."And possibly prosecute me under a third degree felony for stealing money from the state," said Scott.
It took an inquiry from an Orlando news station to get the matter corrected.