Woman thought she'd found the perfect match after a great first date — until he revealed why he hadn't paid taxes in three years
Dating after a difficult breakup can be nerve-racking, and when the date seems too good to be true, you start questioning everything. A woman who goes by u/Earthly_Oddity on Reddit had recently returned to the dating scene and thought she'd hit it off with a funny, attractive man she called Joe. Their first date had gone well. Joe was friendly, funny, and even more attractive in person than he had seemed over text. He paid for everything in cash, which struck her as a little unusual, but she didn't think much of it at the time. But according to her post, which she shared on October 23, 2026, a conversation about politics on their second date took a turn she never expected. He revealed why he hadn't paid taxes in three years, leaving her stunned.
Since they'd spent most of their first date talking about the house he was building, she decided to go on a second date to get to know him better. But during their date, when she brought up politics, Joe revealed that he was an "anarchic libertarian" who believed there should be no government or laws at all. When she pressed him on his views, he even described himself as "basically an extremist." But then he revealed something that made her realize there wouldn't be a third date. He told her he hadn't paid taxes in three years because he didn't believe in the IRS.
The man believed that free-market capitalism should run society. He said he'd only recently come around to accepting the need for police and a few basic laws because "people can be crazy sometimes" and "not everyone is willing to fight back like he is." When he revealed that he was against the IRS, his habit of paying for everything in cash and building a house in a remote area suddenly made more sense to the woman. She suspected he was trying to stay under the government's radar. The revelation was enough to put an end to any chance of a third date. The woman summed up her disappointment with a joke, saying, "Sometimes I feel like God is laughing at me."
Many internet users were baffled by the man's extreme opinions. u/Best_Talk_6853 quipped, "He doesn't believe in the IRS, but the IRS believes in him!" u/K_A_irony pointed out, "The irony is this guy probably doesn't make enough money to even need to pay meaningful taxes." Meanwhile, u/Fantastic_Honey_7425 warned her, "Oh, he’s a sovereign citizen. Run away from that mess as fast as you can, my friend."
A promising date can quickly go south when someone reveals they've been hiding a major red flag. In another story, a 27-year-old woman discovered that the man she'd met through a dating app was actually 51, despite claiming to be her age. When she confronted him, he brushed off the age gap by saying, "Age is just a number." His response was enough to make her walk away, much like the woman who realized that Joe's extreme beliefs and refusal to pay taxes were deal-breakers for her.
To read more of her posts, follow u/Earthly_Oddity on Reddit.