Entrepreneur Hari Raghavan posted a screenshot of a letter he received from California looking for taxes from four years ago — after he says he moved out of the former Golden State.
“[S]eriously: 4 years later CA is hunting down those who left,” Raghavn wrote on X, adding that the state is demanding a “Narrative of the circumstances surrounding you becoming non-residents.”
“[W]hat a joke,” he added. “This is what a failing state looks like.”
Yep.
It’s probably not a coincidence that Raghavan has said things the Thought Police find offensive. Indian news site the Economic Times reports:
Hari Raghavan, the co-founder and CEO of Autograph and a Stanford University graduate, expressed his views on the social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter). He critiqued the work habits of Indian employees, insinuating that they exhibit a lack of diligence, require continuous supervision, and are prone to taking shortcuts.
“I grew up in India and I don’t think y’all understand how unreliable the work ethic of the average Indian employee is. I don’t think it’s an accident that the company [controversial AI startup Optify] has a bunch of Indian founders and my guess is that they’re targeting the manufacturing base in India,” he wrote.
This comes as no surprise to me. Back in August, California put a freaken lien on my bank account for over $2,000 in back income taxes for the tax years 2019 and 2020. But here’s the thing…. I haven’t lived in California since 2011. Nevertheless, over the last five months, with considerable assistance from my employer, I’ve been trying to prove that I didn’t live there in 2019 and 2020. California is making me prove a negative.
And California makes this deliberately impossible to resolve. Sometimes, when you call the Franchise Tax Board, you can’t even wait on hold for someone to become available nor request a callback. When you are able to request a callback, someone will call you back, but it’s always someone different; never the person you spoke with before or faxed the documentation to. So, you fax it again, and you never speak to that person again.
This process is meant to wear you down so you say, “Just take my money.”
Look at what Raghavan is being forced to do… Look at all the hoops he’ll be forced to jump through… All the time and expense… This is a deliberate harassment campaign from a failed and bankrupt state to bully people into paying taxes they do not owe.
Believe me, I’m far from rich, but after five months of worrying about this, sometimes I’m one more “Can you fax that again” from saying, “Just take the money so I can go on with my life.”
It’s the “Hotel California,” only it’s not drugs and debauchery that ensure that the only way to leave is to “check out” — it’s a corrupt franchise tax board.
Trust me, don’t move to California. There is no escape. None. Once you touch that soil, you will be hounded to the ends of the Earth until you “check out.” And then your heirs will be hounded.
John Nolte’s first and last novel Borrowed Time, is winning five-star raves from everyday readers. You can read an excerpt here and an in-depth review here. Also available in hardcover and on Kindle and Audiobook.
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