How does any kind of transaction tax matter if the proprietor fails to report the income?

Was this a space-science researcher? If he's working on anything tangible that doesn't have an upper limit on the bandwidth of data collection like space-science does, then yes, I guess I would expect a researcher to do more than play mix-and-match with a large volume dataset to produce papers.

And anyone that's making decisions about hiring and firing of staff at these levels should be as skilled as those they're hiring and firing. At this point HR is there to enforce on-the-books rules and to deal with the paperwork, but they're not taking overt action against an employee unless that employee has formal complaints that fall into the various types of practices that the organization has chosen to enforce against. Hiring and firing for academic publications and peer review is the purview of the board of the institution or of the college or of the department.

Or they wanted to see how quickly a penetration would be noticed, if at all, so that they could build a bigger exploit.

They won't learn. There have always been individuals that have gone against the grain or against the easiest path. You happen to be among them right now, and that element is small enough that it doesn't really pose a problem for everyone else.

Yep. I HATE cross-site scripting. Unfortunately everyone under the sun has gone to it in the last few years even when it doesn't seem to serve any purpose, even for advertising revenue.

Do you personally know anyone that has been to jail for income tax evasion?

I actually do. He was just convicted within the last couple of months. He'll be in for four years, as he didn't pay any income tax or file for at least four years, to the tune of several million dollars. Instead he spent the money on his automobile collection, which has subsequently been seized and is being sold to pay what he owes.

This was a very rich man. He could have easily afforded his taxes while maintaining a standard of living far in excess of anyone else that I know had he not chosen to buy cars like a madman. He had homes in at least three cities and could afford to go to car events all over the country several times a year. He did this to himself.

Tax evasion is never impossible. Have you ever shopped in a pawn shop? Has the proprietor offered you a discount if you pay cash? That's probably because he's not recording the transaction or is recording it at a much lower amount.

I only single-out pawn shops because everything in the store is used and usually one negotiates a price. This could happen just as easily in a small shop with an owner-operator, with new merchandise, so long as he can cook the books enough to be beneficial for himself without standing out, claiming that his margin on his merchandise is lower than what the transaction actually was.

That's what she said...

If there's no case within a circuit, then that circuit cannot rule on it. If circuits like the 9th never get the case in the first place then there's no contrary rulings to have to decide upon.

I could introduce you to a couple of blind people that I know...

Though I think that for one of them, staring intently into a campfire might have been a contributor.

Can we get this in perspective please?

...and said famously by David Hannum...

"There's a sucker born every minute."

My guess is that they'll attempt to curtail use of these systems in circuits like the 9th so that they don't appeal through to the Supreme Court too quickly, trying to keep it mostly to Law-enforcement-friendly circuits.

So, you don't pay for the universe, you pay for it to go away?

Don't pull on Superman's cape...

Don't spit into the wind...

Don't pull the mask off of the Lone Ranger...

And don't mess around with Jim...