Yes, your business can be very expensive to move and expensive to re-open, but your peace of mind? That's PRICELESS. I wish you all the best and I went through something similar at one point.
Thank you. Moving and re-setting up will cost about $30k altogether, but the piece of mind is genuinely priceless. No amount of money is worth your sanity.
Mike Tyson was talking about how the best years of his life were spent in prison, because he found his own peace. The reviewer was asking him "more than when you made millions just for one fight?" He said "That doesn't mean shit if you don't have peace" I think about that alot
"Salem's Lot" - The State is a Vampire - by William H. Douglas Jun 12, 2021 Vampirism and the State are the same - both infernal, both Satanic, both Evil. Just a few days ago I finished another of King’s works, - Salem’s Lot. And I was shocked about how well it functions as a descriptor for the State and statism - the way that statist ideologies fool and deceive people into supporting authoritarian systems that do nothing but parasitically destroy the lives of the public. Here I will explain how vampirism functions as a great metaphor for statism and what truths can be learned from Salem’s Lot that can help us counter the spread of this parasitical ideology: In Salem’s Lot there are two apparent types of vampires - the Master Vampire and the lesser vampire made by the Master to execute the Master’s will. With the guiding intelligence of the Master Vampire the lesser vampires can be a dangerous force spreading not just their vampirism but the slavery it entails as all those turned by a Master of the Master’s childer become servants of the Master him/herself. Without the guiding intelligence of the Master Vampire all the lesser vampires are more animal than person. They hunt, they feed, they defend their territory, but rarely do they develop complex plans that would allow them to expand their power or control. It is clear that vampirism, once it has infected the host, reduces their intelligence drastically and turns them into the extension of the will of the Master and the loss of the Master upsets the ability of the vampire to function in any significant way. Is this not how the State functions? From ancient times to the modern day, the State is largely the same. The State is an ideological apparatus, a form of government that enables an elite class of people in control of the levers of power to gain and maintain their rule over the masses through brute force (Weber’s “monopoly on violence”) so that they can continue to extract the wealth of the public from it to line the pockets of those in power. No politician creates anything beautiful, invents anything useful, or provides any service that cannot be better obtained through private means. They don’t work. They dictate to us and demand we obey and thank them for their domination. What they do is use the taxation powers of the state to steal the money of the public and redistribute it to those in power and their politically connected cronies. The lifeblood of the poor, their money and their wealth, is taken and they are left drained of their vitality, their ability to improve their lives weakened and stultified. Even those programs supposedly designed to help the poor in reality only leave them more anemic, victims of the ravenous and eternal hunger for money those in power have. In a very real way this is comparable to a vampire stealing the life of its victims by draining their blood. Money represents the results of your blood, seat, tears, and strength - a manifestation of the value you have used your physical labor to produce. Taking it *is* taking away a portion of your life. Taxation in a very real way steals your life from you leaving you weaker than you would have otherwise been if you hadn’t been drained by the Parasitic State. And it isn’t just money, the State demands the power to drain from you anything about your beliefs, lifestyle, and culture - anything it finds “objectionable”- it will take from you, leaving you a hollowed and brutalized shell in its image. Just as vampires take everything from a person and turn them into extensions of the Master Vampire’s will and instinct, so too does the State seek to crush and destroy individuals and individualism in order to remake all of society after its own image and its own ways. Anyone who has been a religious, sexual, national, or racial minority knows exactly what I am talking about. All those horrors and oppressions you can think of, the systemic abuse, and torture? Notice that they’re all just that - systemic. Without the system, without the State, they are impossible. This is why the smaller the state the better and best of all is no state at all. Anarchy, libertarianism, voluntaryism, these are surer protections for the life, liberty, and property of any and all than any statist (“state-ist”) system ever concocted.
One question tho, my first thought about this, why can't you sue over the emotional damages? This also seems like government trying to scam those who won't think twice about it and just pay more. I know you can't sue if there are no damages...i find that BS. Surely at this point he would be able to charge the government advisory fees...
@@rossmanngroup Louis, I suffered a similar attack. I realized because they swapped out my competent auditor at the precise moment they decided to destroy me. This new "idiot" would regularly send mail with time-sensitive documents on a Friday and then not get back until Wednesday. Solely to say "oh, you didn't get back in time, so we're going to _____." They would "lose" documents, claim my documents were "inapplicable," or even straight up lie about requirements or timeframes. They were not an "idiot," Louis, they were malicious. They knew exactly what they were doing. You cannot fall into the trap and believe they are as incompetent as they sound. Which is because Hanlon's Razor does not apply to a government; social manipulation is literally their job. Some manager above that person you spoke with on the phone absolutely knew what was going on. They almost surely made a conscious choice to allow the harassment to continue. To the extent that they _are_ actually incompetent, such weakness is easily covered by their ability to marshal government resources to quash you. That is why you cannot afford to give a government such benefit of the doubt.
As an Indian living in India, I recognize this NY City behavior as a CLEAR indication that NY Tax is corrupt. It's not something that Americans recognize, there must be a way to keep them off the backs of the 1000s of other businesses operation in NY. Maybe this happens indirectly via CPA firms or something and most people aren't aware, it's not necessarily a bag full of money in a back-alley. Exact mechanism not sure, but 100% they are either looking for a bribe OR are vendetta for something you are saying on this RUclips channel.
@@motog-rocks6544 You're fighting entrenched interests from the real estate lobbies (high property value = high tax = more money), Democract machine, unions, and entrenched bureaucrats that will fight tooth and nail to keep their cushy jobs.
@@Crazyasian123456 from my understanding they mis figured the last census just so some of the elected officials can get voted back in. Now got to wait 10 more years. This what happens when politicians determine how much money they want and expect others to pay. Before long the tax itself on repairing a laptop will be equivilant to the price of just buying a new laptop? They are using regulation to force people to buy new cars that hardly anyone can aford. At least now we know why they need 85,000 armed IRS agents.
Hey Louis I will never forget the day I walked in with a busted MacBook and you were about to close and stayed open to fix my laptop. You are a good guy. Texas will appreciate that. Good luck!
9:45 "I'm done living in a city that treats business like criminals and criminals like business owners" - Louis Rossmann 2022 I can see this being a famous quote someday.
Like Godwin or Poe, it should be an eponymous law. Rossman's law, a condition where a city treats business like criminals and criminals like business owners
Observations: -high probability that was a punitive audit -high probability the first letter (you owe us 45k for 3 months) was intentional, though even they knew it would fail any challenge -high probability you will be audited repeatedly (you keep outing their incompetence, so on their short list) -most tax laws are 'guilty until proven otherwise' (as in 'you owe us money unless you can *convince* us otherwise)
You are very right about repeat audit even though he has left the state as NY (& others, esp. CA) will continue to go after former citizens making them prove that they actually moved and that none of their income is taxable by that former resident state. I got rid of all of my clients from NY and CA a couple of years ago because of how aggressive they have become. And because other states are copying them I'm considering limiting my tax prep biz to only residents of GA & FL.
@@dampierstucco5778 This I technically still live in Georgia My tax for that state was like 1000 and got a refund for almost $400 So I only owned Georgia about $650 a year
The worst part of this entire experience, was something I forgot to mention in this video. New York twisted my arm to make a horrible decision, between retaining good people who can't move, or keeping my sanity. A lot of nights I spent getting wasted stemmed from guilt. I felt like a traitor and a piece of shit. and to this day, I still do. My dad had good advice that helped me live with it. _"You have 12 people. If they do this again and are successful, instead of having 12 people, you'll have 0. So, don't be too hard on yourself."_ but it's hard not to be. 6 people will be able to make it. 6 more than 0.
You gave those people a set of skills and a career. Don’t beat yourself up about it. I suspect they will find new roles easily, or one of them will start their own business. Good luck!
As a fellow business owner I will tell you. Always pay yourself first, diversify your investments, diversify your main business. They will always come after you no matter what so budget a lawyer that fights similar cases. Don't ever pay what they say, it's always negotiable.
I’m sure your employees and customers understand Louis. You’ve spent better part of a year unsure of whether or not you’re going to lose everything you have and be plunged into hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt. I wouldn’t stay ether, not for any amount of money. I wish you and your team all the best in future
Loved this video, and it's not just because of the bs u dealt with from new york state. Some of the stuff you talked about reminded my how I feel with the company I work for, and how they treat us. It really wants me to make changes now in my life, thank u for that.
I tried to register a business in Arizona. They kept sending back the paperwork saying "You need to tell us XYZ." And my answer was "It's on page three." "You need to tell us PDQ." "That's on page 2." Like, really, read the entire form you asked me to fill out before telling me you didn't get the information already on the form.
yah - i feel like everybody has been saying exactly this since 1992.....and they tease it every time but somehow they think it wouldn't be as good of a movie as all the dribble they've given us instead.
@@Sammie1053 5k road bike, a dozen smashed windows, home ransacked, 1k boosted board, laptops with memories, electronic scan tools, money, peace of mind, ohh and a best friend stabbed and beaten to an inch of his life. wonderful town
@@1jamerton no of course not. but in a way policies were in place so as not to punish crime which made it skyrocket. likely less then 1 percent of crime gets reported there and likely only violent crime and or murder stats are accurate.
I think the term “financial death row” is an excellent way to describe this. Perfectly captures my fear that one day the gov is going to determine i owe them some ungodly amount of money and I’ll spend the rest of my miserable life paying/fighting them.
That is when you liquidate your assets and pass them to people you trust. The government can't ask money that you don't own. Then you spin them for years until you can move to a nice tropical third world country.
@@RandomUser2401 - No, it only shows ONE quarter: It's a 3 month period (between Dec 2018 to Feb 2019). So that $45k demand is just for small part of that year, there is still another 75% of 2018-19 to be audited, not to mention all the other years. I'm unclear if paying this $45K and leaving NYC absolves Louis, or if they're still coming after him for more. I hope the former, this whole audit seems nonsensical and should be dropped with him left alone. It exposes the disfunctionality of the bureaucratic system in NYC (among other places) and how it's like fighting a broken machine.
Same. I'd like to think I'd try to keep them all happy, but at the end of the day, you have to look after yourself and your own interests first. Fasten your own oxygen mask before helping others.
@@rossmanngroup I say the same, but in reality we have hearts of gold. But yours is better than mine still. I went too jaded. And thank you for your board-repair videos. Come January I want to try my best to learn the art as right now all I can do is very basic swaps and repairs. May you flourish in Texas.
Wow. I still Remember Louis finding a new store and making it all fancy to get the best workplace for repairs. And then telling us that it was mostly for nothing because Covid hit. I hope you find fair treatment in your life Louis. You deserve it. Stand up guy.
@@rossmanngroup fucking humble louis.. you deserve everything you desire, no less, and you have helped others greatly on their road to get that for themselves. imo karma owes you a debt, and you've always been stacking it. i hope you find everything you wanted and more in texas.
Just happened to me and it's fucking brutal 15 years down the drain like it didn't even happen I pray no one goes threw this the anxiety attacks alone are crippling.
Hope things are better for you in Texas, Louis! I went through a similar drama a few years ago except it was an IRS audit of my business - hope you never have to deal with that! I cooperated only as much as they could force me to, which apparently pissed off the auditor - I had representation (I do my own taxes but I always pay for extra for "audit protection" through TurboTax) so I refused to speak directly to the auditor (he called my phone numerous times and left messages) and declined to have any face to face meetings despite the auditor hounding me and fishing for anything to hang me on. They audited 3 years and in the end I was able to show that they actually owed me back a few thousand $ more than I owed them, because I brought forward additional deductions I didn't report each year (I always did this as a precaution, in case I was audited). The auditor found I under-paid my taxes for 1 out of the 3 years, but I amended my filings with the additional deductions I had omitted for the two other years. When the audit was finished and the final report stated the IRS owed me a check (HA HA :P) but then the auditor *somehow* forgot to enter the amounts I was owed for the other two years into the IRS database and only entered the amount due for the year I under-paid. I was oblivious to this as it is an IRS database entry that the auditor performs after the reports are issued, so I was unpleasantly surprised ~6 months later when I received notice from the IRS that they were going after my house for failure to pay the back taxes they said were due! Fast forward about a year of anxiety and sleepless nights and I did finally prevail and the IRS paid me the thousands they owed me, but I had to have the IRS Taxpayer Advocate group get involved to sort out the mess the auditor made for me, and to stop all of the IRS harassing I was receiving.
You see, stories like this are why I don't pay taxes, or evade a lot of my income. Governments should not have that much authority over people's lives & the government is evil, we need to resist & defund the whole government by refusing to finance their bs
I'm a little confused - probably because the IRS itself is confusing - but how could the IRS say you owed back taxes for the two years you were already good on before, during, and after the audit? You said you amended your filings for all 3 years to included deductions you initially never took, which should have meant the amount you owed went **down,** and the IRS would actually owe **you...** But then because the auditor failed to input that fact for those 2 years, that led the IRS to believe you actually owed **them?** Wait wait wait... Was it that the check given to you by the IRS after the audit included the owed tax returns for all 3 years, but the auditor only properly logged one out of those three, so it looked like you owed money in the end? Like hypothetically you were owed $100 for each tax year, so at the end of the audit the IRS gives you a check for $300, but the auditor only logs in some database that you were owed $100 for *one* year, so then it looked like you actually owed the IRS $200? Maybe I'm just misunderstanding. Not accusing you of lying just trying to wrap my head around what happened here 😂
@@tituslafrombois1164 Sounds like the IRS auditor may have intentionally screwed Brian Blair as revenge for bruising his ego. You know, like the cops do: "you may beat the charge, but you won't beat the ride!"
"They audited 3 years and in the end I was able to show that they actually owed me back a few thousand $ more than I owed them, because I brought forward additional deductions I didn't report each year (I always did this as a precaution, in case I was audited)." Total BOSS!
The worst thing about going through something like that is you never feel as relieved as you should. When I went through a horrible situation that wasn't my fault, I only felt about 20% better when it was finally over. It's like getting hit by a truck, you might get out of the hospital and go through rehab and be glad that you can walk again, but you're always injured. A big part of what you enjoyed is just gone.
You always fear the "Not Again". Once somthing happens you know it CAN happen and continuely fear it WILL happen. Get Audited and nearly lose your entire lively hood? Well even if you move you know rules can be written to do that so you fear it may happen again.
@@memnarch129 In cases like this I think it's good to mentally be ready to lose it if they push you too far. Then you know that they will never walk all over you without severely regretting it. Could save you from this kind of trauma.
Hang in there buddy. This happened to me, but with the IRS. I have a small business and a 10 dollar interest payment I didn't report (a mistake I missed) triggered a battle with them that took three years and the fees and penalties added up to over 70,000 dollars. They claimed I didn't report a chunk of income which I did. I couldn't get through to them despite calling every single day, and when I did I was told to send a piece of paper here or there which went into the void. Thank God it was resolved after three years of terror and stress. It made me want to give up on everything and it accelerated my declining health. I also ended up letting employees go and shrinking my business substantially which made me feel awful. Like you said it's going to get worse...those irs agents aren't going to go after the people who have money and can defend themselves...they are going to shake down and wear down the middle class.
New York State did the same thing to my business ten years ago. My CPA and tax attorney said flat out that the state is running a shakedown racket. I also shut everything down and moved. I’ll never go back.
In my country, when an advocate is causing too much problems, they usually call audits and other stuff to frustrate them. This sounds awfully similar to that. The fact that a lot of people from my country live in NYC is something to not take lightly.
Stress is one of the actual unreported top killers of small business owners. You fought a good fight. You even won some. However there comes a time that one must acknowledge that the deck is stacked against you and the house is cheating. You have my condolences for what is obviously and emotional loss to you. You were financially and emotionally invested in trying to do the right thing. Good on ya. It's also completely reasonable to choose a less stressful place to go. I hope your new shop does well and that you find some peace out in TX.
You made the right move. There is NO amount of business, money, success, salary or ANYTHING that is worth dealing with that stress. Glad to see you moved to Texas and see that you are doing better.
One thing you should know is you didn’t just leave New York… you also left a mark on the world that will inspire future generations to come to know that they must protect themselves against companies, corporations, and the state. I’m a college student at the moment of this comment and I’m currently writing a essay about the right to repair to spread the word and information forward beyond my family and peers, thank you for everything you done to protect everyone’s rights!
You are a voice, brother. You're doing the right thing. I grew up in Staten and I was NY to the bone. But they took the magic away. It became untenable. I left the state and never looked back. I miss the NY I knew growing up. It ain't there no more. I wish you the best man. Tons of us appreciate you sharing your journey!
This video helped explain so much of the last year of what's been going on for you. I appreciate you sitting down and making this video for us, people you don't know and you don't owe anything to. Truly appreciated. I hope you're happier and healthier where you are
ditto. I regret doubting Louis for a second, this past year something felt wrong. I had no idea what he was going through, and frankly i'm impressed he handled it so well, as always. Even for a work-driven person, who put so much effort and life into their business, and with everything at stake, in the end Louis proved he is a man of principles above all else.
The fact he started drinking over this and being in lonesome state says a lot. As Nice as the NH place was, it reminded me of Alaska or Montana, in the starkness and emptiness of them. at least Louis was able to pull himself out of that and get the hell out of there. In his videos there, he never seemed entirely happy or comfortable there. It always seemed like a stopover point. Only when he did videos from the store did he really engage with us. Or the fun videos of the staff playing games or dealing with the cats. I think that's what I'll miss the most. staff and cats. together.
I am not proud of myself or how I mentally or emotionally handled that, but I can't focus on the past, I can only focus on the future which will never have New York City in it again from my personal or business life. Thanks for watching!
Louis is an actual role model. To have his resilience to deal with all this shit for as long as he did and still keep up his work ethics and morals is admirable. Hope you recover well Louis.
Dude, I feel you. My dad owns his own business and he had given up so much business because he wasn't sure how he was going to be taxed by the state of Minnesota so he let the job go, because it just isn't worth the stress and the fear
Holy shit dude - I've been out of the loop a while about your goings on but I'm so glad I watched this. I understand the bitter sweet ordeal but let me assure you - you made the right decision! I wish you nothing but success at your new location. Anyone who truly understands your principals and what you stand for will continue to support you!
We know you are a good person, I’ve called you to consult and you answered honestly, don’t worry, I’m sure you will do fine when you re-open your business. The effort you put in to Right to Repair is giving all of us hope, keep up the great work. Steve a tech from Puerto Rico. 💪🏼
All that, and they still can't answer his question about reselling abandoned electronics. Best of luck and health to you Luis! I've enjoyed all the different types of content that you have posted. You have a talent and honesty that people want to hear and see.
The new gop majority in the house of representatives plans to defund those 80k new irs agents according to Tom Emmer, the new majority whip. With a little luck, they may even keep that promise.
Dont forget they changed the threshold for payment apps to report transactions to the IRS if its more than $600 in a year…. Before it was $20,000 in a year
My dad was in tax law accounting and has been retired for about 7 years now. He had many confrontations with New York auditors over the years and at the end he said they were getting lazy and fraudulent. He had one in particular where NY state said some company he oversaw owed several million in taxes, he disagreed, and was informed, legal or not, they were going to get that money.
Louis, you're 100% right about what you did and what you think. New York is a crime family state. I have the unfortunate misfortune of having to work in NY but I live near you in Texas. I hope one day enough people move out of NY so that it fiscally shuts down. I hope people who move to Texas never vote for the same things that made NY what it is today.
Sorry to hear your experiences. Texas will welcome you. Keep being you. Don't listen to negative commentary. God bless you man. New York is imploding due to stupidity in government. Keep strong man.
Left New York a year ago and love it. People are nicer, taxes are lower, and I don't have to deal with 3 feet of snow minimum per week for 6 months of the year. Good to hear you are moving on.
My mother was an auditor who specialized in auditing local governments. I can assure you, I've never heard of an audit that wasn't laughably bad. The fact that your error rate is that low is scary. I'd love to see dear old mom come out of retirement and audit NYC, I bet even as long as she's been out of the game, she'd find more than 0.1% issue with them.
does she have any contacts still? like how they can tell a business they owe heaps of money based on something they can't themselves explain is just mental..
do you know what the distribution of errors rates is or even just what the average error rate is? 0.11% sounds really good, but I tried googling to get a perspective of just how good it was but couldn't find anything
I'd bet any money that there's not a single agency in NYC that could withstand a true audit without provoking a DOJ action ending in criminal charges and permanent in-office oversight. Just to kick things off, at the beginning of every new mayoral change there's a flood of mayoral aides invading offices (cough pension admin cough) and making sure that their funders get their slice. The NYPD is infamous for overpaying millions for things such as training devices (that are laughably useless), especially when they are being sold by recent retirees at the senior level. Im not taking about unofficial petty perks such as avoided toll charges, which I frankly don't care about, I'm talking about actual high level corruption.
I feel you man. I tried for 30 years in 4 different industries. Now I do handyman work wherever. Broke as shit, but no more compliance issues, insurance issues, partners stealing all the cash, tax code and epa constantly down my back. etc... etc... In my 50s now with no prospects, but better than the man constantly trying to take everything away.
Hey Brett, me too man!! I'm mid 50's, in the UK, and spent my whole life fighting to comply with a system that has been designed for me to fail. I'm now a single dad, g'friend in the Philippines who I'm marrying next year, living on about GB£15k/year (I was earning 60-100k/year) and my life is stress free, no worries at all, no mortgage, no insurances scamming me, no shady business partners screwing me over and no prospects but who gives a shit eh! I'm sane, off the booze, out of a destructive marriage and loving life again while I'm young enough to enjoy it, a lifetime of stress got me nothing and I wish I had my time again to do things differently but it ain't gonna happen so I suck it up and make the best of a bad world.. Stay strong brother❤
I absolutely agree with your decision to get out of New York. On a smaller scale, NY goes after those who are not multimillionaires who are probably not paying the taxes in the first place. Your loyalty to your employees shows your integrity. I’m happy for you and those who are able to move with you. Happy birthday Louis, have a great one.
Aight, let's all be honest: It'd be pretty dope to have Louis as a greeter at your local Walmart. Like, he's personable enough that you would instantly be having a good day if he was at the door to greet you.
I've said it before, Louis has a voice like a doctor. It doesn't matter how bad the diagnosis is, his voice will make you feel better about everything else.
Props for sticking it through as much as you tried. Documenting it for us all to see how the government treated you was very helpful to others. But you deserve the opportunity to be successful. Full respect for any decision you make that you feel is right for you.
You're one of the best we have in America --- literally putting your life on the line to pursue excellence as a business owner. I owned a software company headquartered in Chicago with business in many states and some overseas countries. The Chicago / Illinois government audits were easy to pass, not like what you're experiencing in New York. I mostly live in Florida now. You should move here, while keeping your New Hampshire places as a summer vacation home. Open a repair shop in Florida, then migrate your New York staff down there over a period of years, while winding down the NYC business. Otherwise, way you're describing it, you could be there 20 or 30 more years, and then they bankrupt you when you're in your 50s and 60s. Better to start getting out from under them now.
btw, your cat reminds me of a tax in Chicago that people refused to pay. It was a tax on cats. "Real men won't even admit to owning a cat, let alone paying taxes on it."
Fellow Florida Man. Louis was strongly considering joining us in our wonderful state, but he got a job offer in Texas. A job he will be working while also running his repair shop (after relocating it). That's why he's in Texas now.
Hey louis, I hope that you are recovering well from such a rough year. Lets hope going forward something like this never happens again. It's very honourable how much you put yourself through to reduce negatively effecting your employees. As well as this it really shows how strong of a person you were able to manage it whilst still keeping everything running. It's really good to hear that your putting your needs first now and I hope it continues to allow you to recover and that your business is even more successful after having to go through such a tough time. So much for NY being the place where anyone can come and make their dreams come true.
It's crazy to me that this guy is so talented and hard-working, has helped SOOOOO many people, knows how to run a business, and still gets fucked by the government. This bureaucracy is killing the American dream. I hope you keep your spirits up man, you've helped countless people, it's very admirable.
Good lord the stress of this sounds absolutely overwhelming, it's horrid to deal with this, to deal with the kind of guilt you're going through because you are actually a guy who cares. It's hard to say "Don't feel guilty" because when someone like you is in this kind of dealing for an extended period, ofcourse you do feel guilty. You don't just care about yourself and your 'bottom line', you care about your employees. And yet, despite the guilt, I think you're absolutely awesome, you are an inspiration to me, and though my own little business of fixing computers and helping people failed because there just wasn't enough of a customer base where I am, and every month was possibly a struggle, financially, I bugged out when it got to be too much for me. I didn't have to deal with this kinda audit shit over here in the Netherlands, but I feel that added stress, the constant troubles you've talked about in your videos. You care. And that's what makes you great as well, because it's sometimes hard to find an owner of something to really care for anything. I'm also rambling here so lemme summarize. I respect you. I respect your opinion, your views, your look on the situations you are in because of the sheer, damn honesty you've put forward every single time. You own up to your mistakes in an industry that often tries to obfuscate problems with annoying bla bla. You are an amazing, good hearted anomaly in a business full of con jobs and fake actors. So yeah, good luck in your new place, your new venture, and I very much hope it goes a lot more smoothly and you build up a great community in your area of people that know and realize just how amazing it is to have someone fix their stuff that isn't trying to dime them for every penny! I started watching your stuff many years ago and I've never regretted seeing your imput. Times may be tough, but at the very least, you are someone worth watching, someone worth the time. Ramble over, stay strong Louis, you are still an inspiration to me, someone that taught me so much in your time.
that really sucks how NY State treats legitimate businesses, and don't really have any legal basis for why they are doing things the way they are doing them. But welcome to Austin! Glad we have you!
Louis as a Texan, welcome. I can't blame you for leaving that region. The only thing I fear you may not be ready for is the incredibly hot summers. Good luck in business and I hope your move and travels are safe!
@@MarshallMathersthe7th We have nights were it's 85+ out at 2 in the morning haha. We had a couple move in from Chicago for about 6 years. We never saw them for 6 months out of the year, guess what time of year that was.
I have been a customer at Louis' NYC shop and have always been 100% satisfied with the work, price and experience. I'm sad you're leaving but completely understand why. Good luck to you and your staff. Happy Birthday also.
Doing tax returns is the most stressful time of the year for me and I don't even have a business. It constantly feels like they are trying to find ways to confuse/screw you over with ever more weird and convoluted rules to squeeze out every last penny (I'm in the UK). You need to do what is best for you - no good putting yourself into an early grave with the stress. I hope you have a wonderful birthday and good luck!
It really says something that New York would punish-audit you after you pointed out their corruption instead of actually looking into their own corruption, glad you’re doing better in Texas! 🤠
The corrupt never correct their errors, they silence their critics. Kinda how Left wing controled sites and media tend to shut down any right leaning talking points. Kinda makes you think
Congratulations Louis! You look after you! You can't die on a cross for your employees for ever. At some point you have to look at yourself. Know when to leave. I hope you get better soon it looks like you're already doing much better. I hope you continue to get well. Happy birthday!
Louis, I am so sorry what happened to you. I’m retired now, but I was a sales tax auditor for many years (not NY). Audits can be very stressful and can ruin peoples health (seriously).
I always enjoy Louis's videos, but he just seems broken at this point because of these greedy monsters. And the sad thing about it is that they couldn't care less about what they are doing to their own people.
@@TS-qd2uj I swear, NYC needs to go full-bankrupt before anyone is going to get the stick out of their ass and realize there's a problem with how they're doing things. I let my retirement account lock me out over the asinine way they're implementing 2fa, but I really need to knuckle under and get my money out of anything related to securities, or anything even tangentially related to NYC real estate before that city completely collapses.
@@hhjhj393 i fear you have nailed it. Financial independence is an enemy of all authoritarian States, whether communist or liberal fascist. And internets facilitate sociopathic exploitation to the max
I took the leap from good pay and stress to less pay and no stress 15 years ago. Believe me Louis, you'll come out on the other side of this happier and healthier. Best wishes and have a Happy Thanksgiving.
I think you made the right choice. I’m actually surprised you held out as long as you did. I hope Texas treats you well. The people who should feel guilty are the bureaucrats and politicians who make life hell for small businesses trying to survive. You’re a good man.
Happy Birthday Louis, honestly it sounds like the stress relief after everything is done is the best birthday gift you could get for yourself, take care man
I’m no republican, but Kathy Hochul and every democrat that NY puts forward doesn’t seem to understand jack shit about that their own state or people. Woefully out of touch
@@c.k.203 hyper socialization. New York is too much of a bubble. Same with every other mega city like Tokyo or London - they all end up becoming homogenous in thought and action. Idealism only gets people so far.
Thanks, Louis, for the details. I appreciate how hard running a business can be, but having numerous families dependent on you amid this chaotic audit was a test off nerves. Have a good rest and enjoy your new home. BTW, although I've never lived close to your repair shop, you certainly inspired me to use my local shops and experts. So, you've paid it forward in a way. Good luck.
I hope that you can de-stress and find some peace. Having money pressures like that can be really bad for your health I'm glad you're taking it as well as you are. Thank you for always being honest and opening up about your life.
Sometimes we have to make bad decisions in times of mental stress in order to keep ourselves sane. I'm glad you're doing better Louis and I wish the best for you in this next chapter of your life.
This is honestly the most heart wrenching video I have ever seen, I honestly can't imagine going through such a traumatic experience and coming out of it unscathed. This is going to leave an ever-lasting scar, that honestly no amount of apologies or money could ever fix. You are a great guy, and I wish you the best for the future.
I sent a apple laptop to you several years ago. Your employee's were professional, pleasant and patient with someone who is very tech ignorant. The work was done in a timely manner. Thank you. In the future I will definitely use your services again without hesitation. I also enjoy your videos.
Shocked and saddened that this has happened to you. You're one of the good guys. Hopefully you can rebuild stronger and more importantly happier than before x
I’m Soo happy you made the tough decision to do what was best for your mental health. Now cut back on the booze and get ur shit together !!! You got this man. Onto bigger and better things. Ty for sharing and best wishes
Louis, I have watched many of your videos for a long time. For some reason I had never Subscribed. After watching this video and seeing how "Real" you are I made sure that I was subscribed. It is amazing to see someone on here talking about everything you went through, just to try to run a legit business. I run my own business as well in Tennessee and I'm so glad we don't have to put up with the BS you had to put up with in NY. I do not blame you for moving even though I can tell it causes you pain having to leave some of your great staff behind. Sometimes you just have to look out your yourself and your own sanity. Thanks for all you do in the Right to Repair arena and cant wait to see more of your videos and how things go!
You were the architect of your success to date and you will build success where you decide to be next too. Let places like NY fail as all of the competent business owners and professionals leave.
Welcome to Texas! We are glad to have you brother! From a fellow business owner I’m glad you made the decision to move. I moved myself and it is a horrifying prospect to pick up everything and move. You did the right thing and your loyal employees will understand that you did what you had to do. I wish you all the luck in the world and I hope you enjoy the great state of Texas.
@@tyree9055 not too much of an issue so long as the folks coming to Texas remember why they left where they came from. The main thing preventing major problems is quality voting laws.
Its a shame that stuff like this happens. I see a lot of stuff like this in the country of beaurocracy where i live (Germany) and i hate it. Wish you all the best take care my friend✌️
Good decision! Did the same! Do not regret at all. I did move from one country to another and i am happy for 4 years- doing the same business but in other country. I am happier than before! Do not regret.
Completely different, but my custody case took a huge toll on me. The minute I seen the official court order signed by the judge I lit up and all of that depression was gone just like that. I'm glad to hear you're doing much better.
Happy Birthday! You are literally batman. The hero we all need. I’m so glad you’re feeling less stressed. You aound more relaxed and happier. I’m actually going to ensure I do business with you once you open up shop in Tx. I think many people will still want to ship stuff to you just to support you.
I've always admired your integrity, loyalty, and honesty... you won't lose business, you're a winner. New York is just targeting the hard working business owners to cover their mistakes. I'd leave asap. Good luck, happy birthday.
Happy birthday Louis!! I wish you 10,000 times more happiness and peace of mind than Blackberry ever wished for you. Thanks for making my life better and I'm sorry for all of those bad memories. The game of life is poorly coded.
Sounds like the best decision possible to me... We don't take stress nearly as seriously as we should. I lived with high levels of stress for many years, not going into details, but it cost me. And not just for a time, some of the effects of it will be forever. I also can empathise with the guilt, but that is just a feeling born out of having a high level of loyalty and responsibility, nothing good comes from grinding your mental health into the dirt for other peoples sake.
![[RANT] New York City is begging businesses to leave](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/965BLLWv8h8/mqdefault.jpg)
Yes, your business can be very expensive to move and expensive to re-open, but your peace of mind? That's PRICELESS. I wish you all the best and I went through something similar at one point.
Talking about it helps too
Thank you. Moving and re-setting up will cost about $30k altogether, but the piece of mind is genuinely priceless. No amount of money is worth your sanity.
Mike Tyson was talking about how the best years of his life were spent in prison, because he found his own peace. The reviewer was asking him "more than when you made millions just for one fight?" He said "That doesn't mean shit if you don't have peace" I think about that alot
"Salem's Lot" - The State is a Vampire - by William H. Douglas
Jun 12, 2021 Vampirism and the State are the same - both infernal, both Satanic, both Evil.
Just a few days ago I finished another of King’s works, - Salem’s Lot. And I was shocked about how well it functions as a descriptor for the State and statism - the way that statist ideologies fool and deceive people into supporting authoritarian systems that do nothing but parasitically destroy the lives of the public. Here I will explain how vampirism functions as a great metaphor for statism and what truths can be learned from Salem’s Lot that can help us counter the spread of this parasitical ideology:
In Salem’s Lot there are two apparent types of vampires - the Master Vampire and the lesser vampire made by the Master to execute the Master’s will. With the guiding intelligence of the Master Vampire the lesser vampires can be a dangerous force spreading not just their vampirism but the slavery it entails as all those turned by a Master of the Master’s childer become servants of the Master him/herself. Without the guiding intelligence of the Master Vampire all the lesser vampires are more animal than person. They hunt, they feed, they defend their territory, but rarely do they develop complex plans that would allow them to expand their power or control.
It is clear that vampirism, once it has infected the host, reduces their intelligence drastically and turns them into the extension of the will of the Master and the loss of the Master upsets the ability of the vampire to function in any significant way.
Is this not how the State functions?
From ancient times to the modern day, the State is largely the same. The State is an ideological apparatus, a form of government that enables an elite class of people in control of the levers of power to gain and maintain their rule over the masses through brute force (Weber’s “monopoly on violence”) so that they can continue to extract the wealth of the public from it to line the pockets of those in power. No politician creates anything beautiful, invents anything useful, or provides any service that cannot be better obtained through private means. They don’t work. They dictate to us and demand we obey and thank them for their domination. What they do is use the taxation powers of the state to steal the money of the public and redistribute it to those in power and their politically connected cronies. The lifeblood of the poor, their money and their wealth, is taken and they are left drained of their vitality, their ability to improve their lives weakened and stultified. Even those programs supposedly designed to help the poor in reality only leave them more anemic, victims of the ravenous and eternal hunger for money those in power have.
In a very real way this is comparable to a vampire stealing the life of its victims by draining their blood. Money represents the results of your blood, seat, tears, and strength - a manifestation of the value you have used your physical labor to produce. Taking it *is* taking away a portion of your life. Taxation in a very real way steals your life from you leaving you weaker than you would have otherwise been if you hadn’t been drained by the Parasitic State. And it isn’t just money, the State demands the power to drain from you anything about your beliefs, lifestyle, and culture - anything it finds “objectionable”- it will take from you, leaving you a hollowed and brutalized shell in its image. Just as vampires take everything from a person and turn them into extensions of the Master Vampire’s will and instinct, so too does the State seek to crush and destroy individuals and individualism in order to remake all of society after its own image and its own ways. Anyone who has been a religious, sexual, national, or racial minority knows exactly what I am talking about. All those horrors and oppressions you can think of, the systemic abuse, and torture? Notice that they’re all just that - systemic. Without the system, without the State, they are impossible. This is why the smaller the state the better and best of all is no state at all. Anarchy, libertarianism, voluntaryism, these are surer protections for the life, liberty, and property of any and all than any statist (“state-ist”) system ever concocted.
One question tho, my first thought about this, why can't you sue over the emotional damages? This also seems like government trying to scam those who won't think twice about it and just pay more. I know you can't sue if there are no damages...i find that BS. Surely at this point he would be able to charge the government advisory fees...
But they still can’t account for Deblasios wife’s 850 missing millions.
Actually
Can't or won't?
@@kieranh2005 Exactly.
@@rossmanngroup Louis, I suffered a similar attack. I realized because they swapped out my competent auditor at the precise moment they decided to destroy me. This new "idiot" would regularly send mail with time-sensitive documents on a Friday and then not get back until Wednesday. Solely to say "oh, you didn't get back in time, so we're going to _____." They would "lose" documents, claim my documents were "inapplicable," or even straight up lie about requirements or timeframes.
They were not an "idiot," Louis, they were malicious. They knew exactly what they were doing. You cannot fall into the trap and believe they are as incompetent as they sound.
Which is because Hanlon's Razor does not apply to a government; social manipulation is literally their job. Some manager above that person you spoke with on the phone absolutely knew what was going on. They almost surely made a conscious choice to allow the harassment to continue. To the extent that they _are_ actually incompetent, such weakness is easily covered by their ability to marshal government resources to quash you. That is why you cannot afford to give a government such benefit of the doubt.
@@kieranh2005 yes to both. Dont know where it is, but if they find out tons of ppl get the curtain pulled on them.
this should be trending, so all business owner in new york knew the risk doings business in there
Make it happen
As an Indian living in India, I recognize this NY City behavior as a CLEAR indication that NY Tax is corrupt. It's not something that Americans recognize, there must be a way to keep them off the backs of the 1000s of other businesses operation in NY. Maybe this happens indirectly via CPA firms or something and most people aren't aware, it's not necessarily a bag full of money in a back-alley.
Exact mechanism not sure, but 100% they are either looking for a bribe OR are vendetta for something you are saying on this RUclips channel.
@@motog-rocks6544 You're fighting entrenched interests from the real estate lobbies (high property value = high tax = more money), Democract machine, unions, and entrenched bureaucrats that will fight tooth and nail to keep their cushy jobs.
@@Crazyasian123456 from my understanding they mis figured the last census just so some of the elected officials can get voted back in. Now got to wait 10 more years. This what happens when politicians determine how much money they want and expect others to pay. Before long the tax itself on repairing a laptop will be equivilant to the price of just buying a new laptop? They are using regulation to force people to buy new cars that hardly anyone can aford. At least now we know why they need 85,000 armed IRS agents.
@@rossmanngroup It could happen if you were to rename the video to something like "NY tried to bankrupt me and so I left"
Hey Louis I will never forget the day I walked in with a busted MacBook and you were about to close and stayed open to fix my laptop. You are a good guy. Texas will appreciate that. Good luck!
Thank you!
Error rate = 1 in 1000. I wonder what the government's error rate is.
1 in 1
@@fetch2385 ahahahahah, made me laugh.
@@fetch2385 wrong it's 4 to 1
@@seandevine9846 25% seems reasonable
@@jonmurrs7068 No, no, no. You misunderstand. It's 400%.
9:45
"I'm done living in a city that treats business like criminals and criminals like business owners" - Louis Rossmann 2022
I can see this being a famous quote someday.
nah thats just the truth and not really inspiring. noone cares about that.
@@invalid8774 they will when he runs for Mayor!
I was looking for this comment. OP. You have said precisely what I wanted to.
Seems like the corruption is Marrow deep.
Madame Guillotine is thirsty.
Like Godwin or Poe, it should be an eponymous law.
Rossman's law, a condition where a city treats business like criminals and criminals like business owners
Never have I heard anything that was more truthful.
Observations:
-high probability that was a punitive audit
-high probability the first letter (you owe us 45k for 3 months) was intentional, though even they knew it would fail any challenge
-high probability you will be audited repeatedly (you keep outing their incompetence, so on their short list)
-most tax laws are 'guilty until proven otherwise' (as in 'you owe us money unless you can *convince* us otherwise)
You are very right about repeat audit even though he has left the state as NY (& others, esp. CA) will continue to go after former citizens making them prove that they actually moved and that none of their income is taxable by that former resident state. I got rid of all of my clients from NY and CA a couple of years ago because of how aggressive they have become. And because other states are copying them I'm considering limiting my tax prep biz to only residents of GA & FL.
@@dampierstucco5778 we are reaching the point of neading to advise people to leave the country not just certain States.
@@dampierstucco5778 This
I technically still live in Georgia
My tax for that state was like 1000 and got a refund for almost $400
So I only owned Georgia about $650 a year
Treacherous bureaucrat scum man.
Exactly and reason you never give in even if it cost you more, as it give them a reason to go further?
The worst part of this entire experience, was something I forgot to mention in this video. New York twisted my arm to make a horrible decision, between retaining good people who can't move, or keeping my sanity.
A lot of nights I spent getting wasted stemmed from guilt. I felt like a traitor and a piece of shit. and to this day, I still do.
My dad had good advice that helped me live with it. _"You have 12 people. If they do this again and are successful, instead of having 12 people, you'll have 0. So, don't be too hard on yourself."_ but it's hard not to be. 6 people will be able to make it. 6 more than 0.
You gave those people a set of skills and a career. Don’t beat yourself up about it. I suspect they will find new roles easily, or one of them will start their own business.
Good luck!
As a fellow business owner I will tell you. Always pay yourself first, diversify your investments, diversify your main business. They will always come after you no matter what so budget a lawyer that fights similar cases. Don't ever pay what they say, it's always negotiable.
I do concur 6 is more than 0.
I’m sure your employees and customers understand Louis. You’ve spent better part of a year unsure of whether or not you’re going to lose everything you have and be plunged into hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt. I wouldn’t stay ether, not for any amount of money. I wish you and your team all the best in future
Loved this video, and it's not just because of the bs u dealt with from new york state. Some of the stuff you talked about reminded my how I feel with the company I work for, and how they treat us. It really wants me to make changes now in my life, thank u for that.
I tried to register a business in Arizona. They kept sending back the paperwork saying "You need to tell us XYZ." And my answer was "It's on page three." "You need to tell us PDQ." "That's on page 2." Like, really, read the entire form you asked me to fill out before telling me you didn't get the information already on the form.
yah - i feel like everybody has been saying exactly this since 1992.....and they tease it every time but somehow they think it wouldn't be as good of a movie as all the dribble they've given us instead.
thank god on the UK this is just a simple online form
@@oskarz It is in most places in the USA too.
"I aint staying to figure out what they're going to try and take from me next" exactly my thoughts when moving out of san francisco
Genuinely curious what was "taken from you" in San Francisco
@@Sammie1053 I mean its California, everything is on the table to take from you.
@@Sammie1053 5k road bike, a dozen smashed windows, home ransacked, 1k boosted board, laptops with memories, electronic scan tools, money, peace of mind, ohh and a best friend stabbed and beaten to an inch of his life. wonderful town
@@sprinterfix the police did that?
@@1jamerton no of course not. but in a way policies were in place so as not to punish crime which made it skyrocket. likely less then 1 percent of crime gets reported there and likely only violent crime and or murder stats are accurate.
A 4.9 rating is almost unheard of on any site anywhere. Truly amazing work. Glad you are enjoying post NYC life.
It pulled on my heartstrings when he talks about his staff. Having a buisness owner that cares about their staff lives is priceless in a community.
You can tell he cares. He got choked up talkng about it. Louis has a huge heart.
I think the term “financial death row” is an excellent way to describe this. Perfectly captures my fear that one day the gov is going to determine i owe them some ungodly amount of money and I’ll spend the rest of my miserable life paying/fighting them.
Lol in my case they can get in line.
id do all i can to just disappear. take everything from my dead body that no one can find, see how wellthat works out
just for the sake of clarity: That 45k figure was for five, not for one quarter, right? Jan 2018 till end of Feb 2019? Still horrible ofc
That is when you liquidate your assets and pass them to people you trust. The government can't ask money that you don't own. Then you spin them for years until you can move to a nice tropical third world country.
@@RandomUser2401 - No, it only shows ONE quarter: It's a 3 month period (between Dec 2018 to Feb 2019). So that $45k demand is just for small part of that year, there is still another 75% of 2018-19 to be audited, not to mention all the other years. I'm unclear if paying this $45K and leaving NYC absolves Louis, or if they're still coming after him for more. I hope the former, this whole audit seems nonsensical and should be dropped with him left alone. It exposes the disfunctionality of the bureaucratic system in NYC (among other places) and how it's like fighting a broken machine.
He was an honorable Man for trying so long for his employees. I honestly cannot say I would have done the same.
Same. I'd like to think I'd try to keep them all happy, but at the end of the day, you have to look after yourself and your own interests first. Fasten your own oxygen mask before helping others.
nah, i'm a piece of shit
@@rossmanngroup
I say the same, but in reality we have hearts of gold. But yours is better than mine still. I went too jaded.
And thank you for your board-repair videos. Come January I want to try my best to learn the art as right now all I can do is very basic swaps and repairs.
May you flourish in Texas.
We all are
@@tin2001
Indeed. That is what I try to teach my daughter about the air mask.
Wow. I still Remember Louis finding a new store and making it all fancy to get the best workplace for repairs. And then telling us that it was mostly for nothing because Covid hit. I hope you find fair treatment in your life Louis. You deserve it. Stand up guy.
I deserve what I earn, and nothing better. We'll see what I earn moving forward.
@@rossmanngroup fucking humble louis.. you deserve everything you desire, no less, and you have helped others greatly on their road to get that for themselves. imo karma owes you a debt, and you've always been stacking it. i hope you find everything you wanted and more in texas.
@@rossmanngroup Moving to Texas was the smartest decision in your life. You will find happiness once again. ❤
I remember the shitty contractor who make the floor.
@@rossmanngroup I dare say you've earned the respect of many.
Awesome welcome to Texas
This was a tough watch. Don't blame you for moving. Financial stress is one of the worst things in life. It breaks lives, marriages & one's sanity.
Well said, so very true...
....And that's by design. Everyone's starting to figure out that Economic Pressure is being used as mass birth control, nowadays. Notice that? ;)
Just happened to me and it's fucking brutal 15 years down the drain like it didn't even happen I pray no one goes threw this the anxiety attacks alone are crippling.
NYC, where criminals and the state are free to terrorize business owners.
Not anymore!
When you say "Criminals and the State", you're referencing the same people twice.
You act like other states don’t have this issue
@@MatthewJeffero so what is your solution? I would like to hear.
As usual,the joke that goes "Why does goverment dislike organized crime? They dont like competition." will be true.
Hope things are better for you in Texas, Louis! I went through a similar drama a few years ago except it was an IRS audit of my business - hope you never have to deal with that! I cooperated only as much as they could force me to, which apparently pissed off the auditor - I had representation (I do my own taxes but I always pay for extra for "audit protection" through TurboTax) so I refused to speak directly to the auditor (he called my phone numerous times and left messages) and declined to have any face to face meetings despite the auditor hounding me and fishing for anything to hang me on. They audited 3 years and in the end I was able to show that they actually owed me back a few thousand $ more than I owed them, because I brought forward additional deductions I didn't report each year (I always did this as a precaution, in case I was audited). The auditor found I under-paid my taxes for 1 out of the 3 years, but I amended my filings with the additional deductions I had omitted for the two other years. When the audit was finished and the final report stated the IRS owed me a check (HA HA :P) but then the auditor *somehow* forgot to enter the amounts I was owed for the other two years into the IRS database and only entered the amount due for the year I under-paid. I was oblivious to this as it is an IRS database entry that the auditor performs after the reports are issued, so I was unpleasantly surprised ~6 months later when I received notice from the IRS that they were going after my house for failure to pay the back taxes they said were due! Fast forward about a year of anxiety and sleepless nights and I did finally prevail and the IRS paid me the thousands they owed me, but I had to have the IRS Taxpayer Advocate group get involved to sort out the mess the auditor made for me, and to stop all of the IRS harassing I was receiving.
You see, stories like this are why I don't pay taxes, or evade a lot of my income.
Governments should not have that much authority over people's lives & the government is evil, we need to resist & defund the whole government by refusing to finance their bs
I'm a little confused - probably because the IRS itself is confusing - but how could the IRS say you owed back taxes for the two years you were already good on before, during, and after the audit? You said you amended your filings for all 3 years to included deductions you initially never took, which should have meant the amount you owed went **down,** and the IRS would actually owe **you...** But then because the auditor failed to input that fact for those 2 years, that led the IRS to believe you actually owed **them?**
Wait wait wait... Was it that the check given to you by the IRS after the audit included the owed tax returns for all 3 years, but the auditor only properly logged one out of those three, so it looked like you owed money in the end? Like hypothetically you were owed $100 for each tax year, so at the end of the audit the IRS gives you a check for $300, but the auditor only logs in some database that you were owed $100 for *one* year, so then it looked like you actually owed the IRS $200?
Maybe I'm just misunderstanding. Not accusing you of lying just trying to wrap my head around what happened here 😂
@@tituslafrombois1164 Sounds like the IRS auditor may have intentionally screwed Brian Blair as revenge for bruising his ego. You know, like the cops do: "you may beat the charge, but you won't beat the ride!"
"They audited 3 years and in the end I was able to show that they actually owed me back a few thousand $ more than I owed them, because I brought forward additional deductions I didn't report each year (I always did this as a precaution, in case I was audited)."
Total BOSS!
And now the IRS are armed.
This is exactly why each and everyone of us should be sweating about the 87k new IRS agents.
They are coming for ALL of us like this.
Their priority is to justify their jobs. That’s number one. It must feel like they have a bounty on your head. Moving? It comes down to survival.
The worst thing about going through something like that is you never feel as relieved as you should. When I went through a horrible situation that wasn't my fault, I only felt about 20% better when it was finally over. It's like getting hit by a truck, you might get out of the hospital and go through rehab and be glad that you can walk again, but you're always injured. A big part of what you enjoyed is just gone.
The threat of future action is still a possibility.
You always fear the "Not Again". Once somthing happens you know it CAN happen and continuely fear it WILL happen. Get Audited and nearly lose your entire lively hood? Well even if you move you know rules can be written to do that so you fear it may happen again.
@@memnarch129 In cases like this I think it's good to mentally be ready to lose it if they push you too far. Then you know that they will never walk all over you without severely regretting it. Could save you from this kind of trauma.
You've got a lot of integrity Louis. Your employees are extremely lucky to have you as their boss. America needs more people like you leading the way.
And America needs a lot fewer cities like NYC.
Are you saying that America doesn't need more looters and bureaucrats? That's racist.. or something
Hang in there buddy. This happened to me, but with the IRS. I have a small business and a 10 dollar interest payment I didn't report (a mistake I missed) triggered a battle with them that took three years and the fees and penalties added up to over 70,000 dollars. They claimed I didn't report a chunk of income which I did. I couldn't get through to them despite calling every single day, and when I did I was told to send a piece of paper here or there which went into the void. Thank God it was resolved after three years of terror and stress. It made me want to give up on everything and it accelerated my declining health. I also ended up letting employees go and shrinking my business substantially which made me feel awful. Like you said it's going to get worse...those irs agents aren't going to go after the people who have money and can defend themselves...they are going to shake down and wear down the middle class.
New York State did the same thing to my business ten years ago. My CPA and tax attorney said flat out that the state is running a shakedown racket.
I also shut everything down and moved. I’ll never go back.
In my country, when an advocate is causing too much problems, they usually call audits and other stuff to frustrate them. This sounds awfully similar to that. The fact that a lot of people from my country live in NYC is something to not take lightly.
Stress is one of the actual unreported top killers of small business owners. You fought a good fight. You even won some. However there comes a time that one must acknowledge that the deck is stacked against you and the house is cheating. You have my condolences for what is obviously and emotional loss to you. You were financially and emotionally invested in trying to do the right thing. Good on ya. It's also completely reasonable to choose a less stressful place to go. I hope your new shop does well and that you find some peace out in TX.
Imposter!
@@willimwalker You: Joined Apr 18, 2012
Me: Joined Jun 13, 2006
Yes, you are an imposter, but I wouldn't go yelling about it 🤣
@@Will-W hahaha dang! I exposed myself
@@willimwalker I'm giggling about this more than an adult man should admit to.
You made the right move. There is NO amount of business, money, success, salary or ANYTHING that is worth dealing with that stress. Glad to see you moved to Texas and see that you are doing better.
Yeah.. But he moved to Austin.. Not the best city in the state.. VERY lefty..
One thing you should know is you didn’t just leave New York… you also left a mark on the world that will inspire future generations to come to know that they must protect themselves against companies, corporations, and the state. I’m a college student at the moment of this comment and I’m currently writing a essay about the right to repair to spread the word and information forward beyond my family and peers, thank you for everything you done to protect everyone’s rights!
But it's not companies and corporations, it's the state fucking him over
You are a voice, brother. You're doing the right thing. I grew up in Staten and I was NY to the bone. But they took the magic away. It became untenable. I left the state and never looked back. I miss the NY I knew growing up. It ain't there no more. I wish you the best man. Tons of us appreciate you sharing your journey!
This video helped explain so much of the last year of what's been going on for you. I appreciate you sitting down and making this video for us, people you don't know and you don't owe anything to. Truly appreciated. I hope you're happier and healthier where you are
ditto. I regret doubting Louis for a second, this past year something felt wrong. I had no idea what he was going through, and frankly i'm impressed he handled it so well, as always.
Even for a work-driven person, who put so much effort and life into their business, and with everything at stake, in the end Louis proved he is a man of principles above all else.
The fact he started drinking over this and being in lonesome state says a lot.
As Nice as the NH place was, it reminded me of Alaska or Montana, in the starkness and emptiness of them.
at least Louis was able to pull himself out of that and get the hell out of there.
In his videos there, he never seemed entirely happy or comfortable there. It always seemed like a stopover point.
Only when he did videos from the store did he really engage with us.
Or the fun videos of the staff playing games or dealing with the cats.
I think that's what I'll miss the most.
staff and cats. together.
Good Luck to you Louis , Stay strong , just remember you have the respect of many thousands of people world wide . 👍👏👏 from the U.K.
Bro I would of freaked out if I see 45k for a quarter 😢 wow bro
I am not proud of myself or how I mentally or emotionally handled that, but I can't focus on the past, I can only focus on the future which will never have New York City in it again from my personal or business life. Thanks for watching!
Louis is an actual role model. To have his resilience to deal with all this shit for as long as he did and still keep up his work ethics and morals is admirable.
Hope you recover well Louis.
Dude, I feel you. My dad owns his own business and he had given up so much business because he wasn't sure how he was going to be taxed by the state of Minnesota so he let the job go, because it just isn't worth the stress and the fear
Holy shit dude - I've been out of the loop a while about your goings on but I'm so glad I watched this. I understand the bitter sweet ordeal but let me assure you - you made the right decision! I wish you nothing but success at your new location. Anyone who truly understands your principals and what you stand for will continue to support you!
I don't think any sane rational person will question your decision after everything you've had to go through
Thanks for sharing your experience, Louis
We know you are a good person, I’ve called you to consult and you answered honestly, don’t worry, I’m sure you will do fine when you re-open your business. The effort you put in to Right to Repair is giving all of us hope, keep up the great work. Steve a tech from Puerto Rico. 💪🏼
Thank you!
No one deserves to be treated like you've been treated, Louis. Sending you good vibes! Try not to melt down here when summer rolls around :)
I grew up in NYC. Moved to the Gulf Coast. The summers are similar. Humid/hot!
All that, and they still can't answer his question about reselling abandoned electronics. Best of luck and health to you Luis! I've enjoyed all the different types of content that you have posted. You have a talent and honesty that people want to hear and see.
Government hires incompetent drones tò fleece business
80,000 more auditors on the way to squeeze every last penny out of the middle class business owners.... best wishes Louis, thank you for sharing.
Imagine explaining to the founding fathers that there's 80,000 armed tax men. Imagine how fast those bodies would be stacked.
The new gop majority in the house of representatives plans to defund those 80k new irs agents according to Tom Emmer, the new majority whip. With a little luck, they may even keep that promise.
Dont forget they changed the threshold for payment apps to report transactions to the IRS if its more than $600 in a year…. Before it was $20,000 in a year
@@SeasoningTheObese Considering they made the constitution in response to the inability to levy taxes, I doubt that.
@@fatguy9 my days of avoiding mr tax man has came to an end..
My dad was in tax law accounting and has been retired for about 7 years now. He had many confrontations with New York auditors over the years and at the end he said they were getting lazy and fraudulent. He had one in particular where NY state said some company he oversaw owed several million in taxes, he disagreed, and was informed, legal or not, they were going to get that money.
NY is a blue shithole
Louis, you're 100% right about what you did and what you think. New York is a crime family state. I have the unfortunate misfortune of having to work in NY but I live near you in Texas. I hope one day enough people move out of NY so that it fiscally shuts down. I hope people who move to Texas never vote for the same things that made NY what it is today.
Sorry to hear your experiences. Texas will welcome you. Keep being you. Don't listen to negative commentary. God bless you man. New York is imploding due to stupidity in government. Keep strong man.
Left New York a year ago and love it. People are nicer, taxes are lower, and I don't have to deal with 3 feet of snow minimum per week for 6 months of the year. Good to hear you are moving on.
My mother was an auditor who specialized in auditing local governments.
I can assure you, I've never heard of an audit that wasn't laughably bad. The fact that your error rate is that low is scary.
I'd love to see dear old mom come out of retirement and audit NYC, I bet even as long as she's been out of the game, she'd find more than 0.1% issue with them.
does she have any contacts still? like how they can tell a business they owe heaps of money based on something they can't themselves explain is just mental..
And then they wonder why people make killdozers. May Marvin Heemeyer rest in peace, he did the lord's work while he was here.
do you know what the distribution of errors rates is or even just what the average error rate is? 0.11% sounds really good, but I tried googling to get a perspective of just how good it was but couldn't find anything
Ask your mother if she can help Louis out. Maybe she has some wisdom for him.
I'd bet any money that there's not a single agency in NYC that could withstand a true audit without provoking a DOJ action ending in criminal charges and permanent in-office oversight. Just to kick things off, at the beginning of every new mayoral change there's a flood of mayoral aides invading offices (cough pension admin cough) and making sure that their funders get their slice. The NYPD is infamous for overpaying millions for things such as training devices (that are laughably useless), especially when they are being sold by recent retirees at the senior level. Im not taking about unofficial petty perks such as avoided toll charges, which I frankly don't care about, I'm talking about actual high level corruption.
I feel you man. I tried for 30 years in 4 different industries.
Now I do handyman work wherever. Broke as shit, but no more compliance issues, insurance issues, partners stealing all the cash, tax code and epa constantly down my back. etc... etc...
In my 50s now with no prospects, but better than the man constantly trying to take everything away.
Hey Brett, me too man!! I'm mid 50's, in the UK, and spent my whole life fighting to comply with a system that has been designed for me to fail. I'm now a single dad, g'friend in the Philippines who I'm marrying next year, living on about GB£15k/year (I was earning 60-100k/year) and my life is stress free, no worries at all, no mortgage, no insurances scamming me, no shady business partners screwing me over and no prospects but who gives a shit eh!
I'm sane, off the booze, out of a destructive marriage and loving life again while I'm young enough to enjoy it, a lifetime of stress got me nothing and I wish I had my time again to do things differently but it ain't gonna happen so I suck it up and make the best of a bad world.. Stay strong brother❤
Greetings from Houston! We are happy to have a man of your caliber here! Welcome!
I absolutely agree with your decision to get out of New York. On a smaller scale, NY goes after those who are not multimillionaires who are probably not paying the taxes in the first place. Your loyalty to your employees shows your integrity. I’m happy for you and those who are able to move with you. Happy birthday Louis, have a great one.
Your health and your perseverance are so much more important to us and the R2R movement, godspeed Louis
Aight, let's all be honest: It'd be pretty dope to have Louis as a greeter at your local Walmart. Like, he's personable enough that you would instantly be having a good day if he was at the door to greet you.
Just make sure you don’t pull a jay in front of him or there will be hissing. 😂
"Thank you for shopping at Walmart, and as always, I hope you learned something."
ha, everytime I walk in my door I say "hey everybody! how's it going?" to my dog and cat.
I've said it before, Louis has a voice like a doctor. It doesn't matter how bad the diagnosis is, his voice will make you feel better about everything else.
He should go undercover as an Apple store greeter. Show the cultist in action.
Props for sticking it through as much as you tried. Documenting it for us all to see how the government treated you was very helpful to others.
But you deserve the opportunity to be successful. Full respect for any decision you make that you feel is right for you.
You're one of the best we have in America --- literally putting your life on the line to pursue excellence as a business owner. I owned a software company headquartered in Chicago with business in many states and some overseas countries. The Chicago / Illinois government audits were easy to pass, not like what you're experiencing in New York. I mostly live in Florida now. You should move here, while keeping your New Hampshire places as a summer vacation home. Open a repair shop in Florida, then migrate your New York staff down there over a period of years, while winding down the NYC business. Otherwise, way you're describing it, you could be there 20 or 30 more years, and then they bankrupt you when you're in your 50s and 60s. Better to start getting out from under them now.
You haven't been listening to what he says. He's already out.
btw, your cat reminds me of a tax in Chicago that people refused to pay. It was a tax on cats. "Real men won't even admit to owning a cat, let alone paying taxes on it."
Didn't you watch the video? He has already moved his business out of NY to Texas
Fellow Florida Man. Louis was strongly considering joining us in our wonderful state, but he got a job offer in Texas. A job he will be working while also running his repair shop (after relocating it). That's why he's in Texas now.
Hey louis, I hope that you are recovering well from such a rough year. Lets hope going forward something like this never happens again.
It's very honourable how much you put yourself through to reduce negatively effecting your employees. As well as this it really shows how strong of a person you were able to manage it whilst still keeping everything running.
It's really good to hear that your putting your needs first now and I hope it continues to allow you to recover and that your business is even more successful after having to go through such a tough time.
So much for NY being the place where anyone can come and make their dreams come true.
You can't tell me someone at some big company didn't "suggest" this audit be done to NY.
Probably apple lol
It's crazy to me that this guy is so talented and hard-working, has helped SOOOOO many people, knows how to run a business, and still gets fucked by the government. This bureaucracy is killing the American dream.
I hope you keep your spirits up man, you've helped countless people, it's very admirable.
Good lord the stress of this sounds absolutely overwhelming, it's horrid to deal with this, to deal with the kind of guilt you're going through because you are actually a guy who cares. It's hard to say "Don't feel guilty" because when someone like you is in this kind of dealing for an extended period, ofcourse you do feel guilty. You don't just care about yourself and your 'bottom line', you care about your employees.
And yet, despite the guilt, I think you're absolutely awesome, you are an inspiration to me, and though my own little business of fixing computers and helping people failed because there just wasn't enough of a customer base where I am, and every month was possibly a struggle, financially, I bugged out when it got to be too much for me. I didn't have to deal with this kinda audit shit over here in the Netherlands, but I feel that added stress, the constant troubles you've talked about in your videos.
You care.
And that's what makes you great as well, because it's sometimes hard to find an owner of something to really care for anything. I'm also rambling here so lemme summarize. I respect you. I respect your opinion, your views, your look on the situations you are in because of the sheer, damn honesty you've put forward every single time. You own up to your mistakes in an industry that often tries to obfuscate problems with annoying bla bla.
You are an amazing, good hearted anomaly in a business full of con jobs and fake actors. So yeah, good luck in your new place, your new venture, and I very much hope it goes a lot more smoothly and you build up a great community in your area of people that know and realize just how amazing it is to have someone fix their stuff that isn't trying to dime them for every penny! I started watching your stuff many years ago and I've never regretted seeing your imput.
Times may be tough, but at the very least, you are someone worth watching, someone worth the time.
Ramble over, stay strong Louis, you are still an inspiration to me, someone that taught me so much in your time.
that really sucks how NY State treats legitimate businesses, and don't really have any legal basis for why they are doing things the way they are doing them. But welcome to Austin! Glad we have you!
Louis as a Texan, welcome. I can't blame you for leaving that region. The only thing I fear you may not be ready for is the incredibly hot summers. Good luck in business and I hope your move and travels are safe!
Luckily airconditioning exists!
@@MarshallMathersthe7th yeah but it sucks when you go from your office to your vehicle and it takes 15 minutes to cool off, lol
@@CraftwerksMC I agree, i dislike heat as well. I would be an inside person most of the time if i lived there, only go outside when the sun sets,
God bless Texas
@@MarshallMathersthe7th We have nights were it's 85+ out at 2 in the morning haha. We had a couple move in from Chicago for about 6 years. We never saw them for 6 months out of the year, guess what time of year that was.
Louis, I am so glad you found a path out. I will pray for you! May the Lord bless you in your new beginnings.
Thank you!
I have been a customer at Louis' NYC shop and have always been 100% satisfied with the work, price and experience. I'm sad you're leaving but completely understand why. Good luck to you and your staff. Happy Birthday also.
There is always FedEx, UPS
Doing tax returns is the most stressful time of the year for me and I don't even have a business. It constantly feels like they are trying to find ways to confuse/screw you over with ever more weird and convoluted rules to squeeze out every last penny (I'm in the UK). You need to do what is best for you - no good putting yourself into an early grave with the stress. I hope you have a wonderful birthday and good luck!
It really says something that New York would punish-audit you after you pointed out their corruption instead of actually looking into their own corruption, glad you’re doing better in Texas! 🤠
The corrupt never correct their errors, they silence their critics. Kinda how Left wing controled sites and media tend to shut down any right leaning talking points. Kinda makes you think
Lou you are a Class act!! Leave that cease pool behind!!!
Congratulations Louis! You look after you! You can't die on a cross for your employees for ever. At some point you have to look at yourself. Know when to leave. I hope you get better soon it looks like you're already doing much better. I hope you continue to get well.
Happy birthday!
Louis, I am so sorry what happened to you. I’m retired now, but I was a sales tax auditor for many years (not NY). Audits can be very stressful and can ruin peoples health (seriously).
I always enjoy Louis's videos, but he just seems broken at this point because of these greedy monsters. And the sad thing about it is that they couldn't care less about what they are doing to their own people.
And then they wonder why the economy is crashing.
@@TS-qd2uj I swear, NYC needs to go full-bankrupt before anyone is going to get the stick out of their ass and realize there's a problem with how they're doing things. I let my retirement account lock me out over the asinine way they're implementing 2fa, but I really need to knuckle under and get my money out of anything related to securities, or anything even tangentially related to NYC real estate before that city completely collapses.
purposeful destruction on the road to degeneracy
@@hhjhj393 i fear you have nailed it. Financial independence is an enemy of all authoritarian States, whether communist or liberal fascist. And internets facilitate sociopathic exploitation to the max
Governor Cuomo killed my grandma... ask Canadian rapper, Samson!
You sir are a Hero. You've made the right decision. Happy Birthday!!
I took the leap from good pay and stress to less pay and no stress 15 years ago. Believe me Louis, you'll come out on the other side of this happier and healthier. Best wishes and have a Happy Thanksgiving.
Double Congrats Louis!
I really admire your will and dedication to your employees and other people! and i really hope life treats you better!
I'm impressed.
Both for Louis enormous patience.
And NYC ability to finally brake it
He'd have had none of these problems if he'd joined the Mafia when they invited him.
@@wayland7150 lol he'd have a whole different set of problems XD
@@wayland7150 Yep, cost of doing business
Enormous*
As a small business owner you are my hero. We are the backbone of our county and they don't want us to succeed smh
I think you made the right choice. I’m actually surprised you held out as long as you did. I hope Texas treats you well. The people who should feel guilty are the bureaucrats and politicians who make life hell for small businesses trying to survive. You’re a good man.
Happy Birthday Louis, honestly it sounds like the stress relief after everything is done is the best birthday gift you could get for yourself, take care man
I can't believe the people of new york looked at the midterms, and said, yes, more of this please.
The vast majority of New Yorkers are dull wagies that get violent when you try to take their chains off.
I’m no republican, but Kathy Hochul and every democrat that NY puts forward doesn’t seem to understand jack shit about that their own state or people. Woefully out of touch
I honestly have no idea how things turned out the way they did. It makes no sense.
@@c.k.203 hyper socialization. New York is too much of a bubble. Same with every other mega city like Tokyo or London - they all end up becoming homogenous in thought and action. Idealism only gets people so far.
Thanks, Louis, for the details. I appreciate how hard running a business can be, but having numerous families dependent on you amid this chaotic audit was a test off nerves. Have a good rest and enjoy your new home. BTW, although I've never lived close to your repair shop, you certainly inspired me to use my local shops and experts. So, you've paid it forward in a way. Good luck.
This Thanksgiving I’m thankful for never wanting to step foot in NYC again.
God bless you, Louis.
I hope that you can de-stress and find some peace. Having money pressures like that can be really bad for your health I'm glad you're taking it as well as you are. Thank you for always being honest and opening up about your life.
Sometimes we have to make bad decisions in times of mental stress in order to keep ourselves sane. I'm glad you're doing better Louis and I wish the best for you in this next chapter of your life.
This is honestly the most heart wrenching video I have ever seen, I honestly can't imagine going through such a traumatic experience and coming out of it unscathed. This is going to leave an ever-lasting scar, that honestly no amount of apologies or money could ever fix. You are a great guy, and I wish you the best for the future.
Fuck ny state
Last one out of New York, shut off the lights.
This kind of shit is why some people go McVeigh on the Feds/government.
The government is corrupt! (Votes in the same corrupt people) 🤦♂️
I sent a apple laptop to you several years ago. Your employee's were professional, pleasant and patient with someone who is very tech ignorant. The work was done in a timely manner. Thank you. In the future I will definitely use your services again without hesitation. I also enjoy your videos.
You made the right descision - period. Congratulations. Enough is enough. 👍👍
Shocked and saddened that this has happened to you. You're one of the good guys. Hopefully you can rebuild stronger and more importantly happier than before x
Louis, You're a good man. You hung in there as long as you could. Losing your health is not worth it. Austin will love you.
It's heaven compared to NYC...
I’m Soo happy you made the tough decision to do what was best for your mental health. Now cut back on the booze and get ur shit together !!! You got this man. Onto bigger and better things. Ty for sharing and best wishes
Your HAPPINESS is priceless!! Business owner to business owner CONGRATULATIONS! I'm in Tennesse, wish you could open a branch here!
This is why I left New York...I just payed my out state taxes for the last year..
I'm so glad I don't have to file taxes in new york any more
Louis, I have watched many of your videos for a long time. For some reason I had never Subscribed. After watching this video and seeing how "Real" you are I made sure that I was subscribed. It is amazing to see someone on here talking about everything you went through, just to try to run a legit business. I run my own business as well in Tennessee and I'm so glad we don't have to put up with the BS you had to put up with in NY. I do not blame you for moving even though I can tell it causes you pain having to leave some of your great staff behind. Sometimes you just have to look out your yourself and your own sanity. Thanks for all you do in the Right to Repair arena and cant wait to see more of your videos and how things go!
Man, I know this was a tough decision. Your loyalty to the team you built is admirable. Best of luck establishing yourself in TX.
You were the architect of your success to date and you will build success where you decide to be next too. Let places like NY fail as all of the competent business owners and professionals leave.
Welcome to Texas! We are glad to have you brother! From a fellow business owner I’m glad you made the decision to move. I moved myself and it is a horrifying prospect to pick up everything and move. You did the right thing and your loyal employees will understand that you did what you had to do. I wish you all the luck in the world and I hope you enjoy the great state of Texas.
I hope you Texans can handle that double envelopment attack coming from CA and Mexico...
😅👍
@@tyree9055 not too much of an issue so long as the folks coming to Texas remember why they left where they came from. The main thing preventing major problems is quality voting laws.
@@MooreAnalytical You mean voter suppression.
Its a shame that stuff like this happens. I see a lot of stuff like this in the country of beaurocracy where i live (Germany) and i hate it. Wish you all the best take care my friend✌️
we love you Louis! keep up the good work. seriously you are an inspiration and have spread so much vital knowledge over these past 7 years!
Good decision! Did the same! Do not regret at all. I did move from one country to another and i am happy for 4 years- doing the same business but in other country. I am happier than before! Do not regret.
Louis, you're a saint. I hope Texas works out. You deserve better than you got in New York. Keep doing the Lord's work, mann. Happy Birthday!
Completely different, but my custody case took a huge toll on me. The minute I seen the official court order signed by the judge I lit up and all of that depression was gone just like that. I'm glad to hear you're doing much better.
Happy Birthday! You are literally batman. The hero we all need. I’m so glad you’re feeling less stressed. You aound more relaxed and happier. I’m actually going to ensure I do business with you once you open up shop in Tx. I think many people will still want to ship stuff to you just to support you.
I've always admired your integrity, loyalty, and honesty... you won't lose business, you're a winner. New York is just targeting the hard working business owners to cover their mistakes. I'd leave asap. Good luck, happy birthday.
Happy birthday Louis!! I wish you 10,000 times more happiness and peace of mind than Blackberry ever wished for you. Thanks for making my life better and I'm sorry for all of those bad memories. The game of life is poorly coded.
Sounds like the best decision possible to me... We don't take stress nearly as seriously as we should.
I lived with high levels of stress for many years, not going into details, but it cost me. And not just for a time, some of the effects of it will be forever.
I also can empathise with the guilt, but that is just a feeling born out of having a high level of loyalty and responsibility, nothing good comes from grinding your mental health into the dirt for other peoples sake.