The IRS Goes Postal
How inefficient is the IRS? Very. From Newsmax:
A single household in Lansing, Mich., pulled down at least $3.3 million in tax returns after the IRS failed to notice the address was listed on more than 2,000 separate filings.
J. Russell George, the treasury inspector general for tax administration who released the report detailing the incident, says it is just one of many fraud cases among results he finds “extremely troubling.”
The growth of tax fraud and the government’s struggle to keep up with it continues to worsen, “At a time when every dollar counts,” he said in a statement, Bloomberg reported.
The Lansing case stands out. The address was listed on a total of 2,137 different filings, said George.
The IRS, then, is about as effective as the Post Office. The solution -- obvious to any government bureaucrat -- is to make the agency stronger and to give it more power:
The [IRS] report suggested that Congress grant the agency the authority to use existing federal databases to further combat things like identity theft, a major driver of tax fraud.
Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida, a major hub for fraud, acknowledged the problem in a statement. “Online tax cheats are swindling billions from law-abiding Americans,” he said. But he remained vague on solutions, saying only, “we’ve got to find a fix.”
What do you want to bet that the "fix" involves more unrestricted power and more intrusive actions by an already out-of-control government agency?
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Comments:
May '10
Re: The IRS Goes Postal
I'm all for "fixing" the IRS - in the exact same way that I "fixed" my wire fox terrier!
Oct '11
Re: The IRS Goes Postal
Bill Nelson is a major hub for fraud? Good God! Get him out of the Senate, then!
Aug '11
Re: The IRS Goes Postal
I'm sorry, but this line made me laugh out loud.
May '10
Re: The IRS Goes Postal
It's like a referee giving each player a few dozen books of rules to read and then wondering why no one plays by them.
Aug '11
Re: The IRS Goes Postal
What wonderful posts. Obviously the problem with IRS is that we haven't funded it enough. What problem can't be solved by funding (#funding, I guess, for the cool people on twitter).
But this is a tough situation because the IRS is kinda something we do need to work. Maybe can... simplify the tax code? I just spent some time dealing with my grandmother's IRS stuff and it's a jungle!
On hold at the IRS and they mention how they strive to have excellent "customer service" on the recording. Well, you're not a "customer" of the IRS. I won't say you're a "hostage" but if you have enough money and don't give the IRS it's cut... you'll be, well, in trouble. That's not a "customer."
Jun '12
Re: The IRS Goes Postal
Repeal the 16th Amendment.
May '10
Re: The IRS Goes Postal
FairTax and repeal the 16th amandment.
Oct '10
Re: The IRS Goes Postal
FairTax and a 16th Amendment repeal are great ideas, but I have little faith that Mitt Romney and the Republicans, should they win this November, would ever pursue such bold and necessary solutions.
To paraphrase G.K. Chesterton, the whole modern United States has divided itself into Republicans and Democrats. The business of the Democrats is to go on making mistakes. The business of the Republicans is to prevent the mistakes from being corrected.
Jun '11
Re: The IRS Goes Postal
Harry Reid says that paying federal income tax in the US is voluntary. Seems to be these Lansing, Michigan folks just took the spirit of volunteerism to a whole 'notha level.
Dec '11
Re: The IRS Goes Postal
I'm confused.
Sen. Nelson called out "online tax cheats" in his statement. What does being online have to do with the fraud described in the report?
Or is he just angling for an internet sales tax?
Jul '12
Re: The IRS Goes Postal
No, it didn't. It pulled down at least $3.3 million in tax refunds. A tax return is the form you fill out when filing your taxes. A tax refund is the money you get back if you overpaid. The two terms are not interchangeable.