Govt to privatize the IRS?

[pnutchuck]

So, I finally get on the plane to return to the US. I had to transfer in Houston so, I opted for the local "Houston Chronicle" instead of the "Wall Street Journal." I randomly turn through the paper and see a title to the effect that the IRS is now taking bids to outsource their collection department. The paper said that the option became open under Bush's job creation plan.

Is this true? Are the repo guys and credit goons really going to be able to bid on my taxes? Does that mean that they can essentially pay less for collecting my money? Will they have to pay taxes on the money they collect? Do I still have to pay taxes if they're not all going to the government anymore?

What's next? Privatizing the Senate? Oh wait, I forgot, they already are......
:wtf:

edit: found the article
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/business/buggs/3114752

[atommom]

1. Shall we take bets on whether it will be outsourced to India?

[pnutchuck]

3. I went to the web site to see if I could find out any info on it

but it's not easily navigated. I flew in on the 5th from Paris early in the day so, I think the paper was on the 4th.

Here's the link if you want to see if you can find the details.
http://www.chron.com/

[Tux]

10. India? Bad idea.

http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/04/08/061245&tid=98

[atommom]

12. I think we'd be vulnerable to that kind of crime, no matter where the

collection is outsourced to. Too big a temptation...

[fortyfeetunder]

2. I don't like that idea

I smell corruption to the nth degree if this aspect of tax management is privatized.

[ltfranklin]

4. Why not?

After all, a good portion of our Tax money is going into the pockets of Corporations. Why not cut out the middle man?

[whistle]

5. This was started way back and is all part of the plan for a....

..."New World Order", the bankruptcy bill has emboldened the neo-conservatives to restart initiatives that were not so popular eight and ten months ago. I can see Steve Forbes' squirrelly mouth and unblinking magnified beady eyes just dancing over the prospect of buying into a major interest in the profit potential of siphoning off 25% of all IRS collections, plus enslaving millions of Americans to the neo-conservative wishes.

<snip>
Rep. Cardin Criticizes House Vote to Privatize IRS Tax Collection
Friday, June 18, 2004

WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Benjamin L. Cardin sharply criticized House passage of legislation that would privatize tax collection and turn it over to private debt collection companies. The provision to privatize IRS tax collection was buried in an international corporate tax bill that passed the House Thursday by a 251 to 178 vote.

Under the bill, HR 4520, the IRS will be allowed to contract with private debt collection companies for a 25% commission as long as those companies abide by the same rules as federal agencies. While the bill also would require agency officials to send lawmakers reports on private collection efforts, "the oversight of these debt collection companies would be very limited," according to the Congressman, who voted against the measure.

"I find the idea of putting private and sensitive information in the hands of debt collectors very troubling. It also doesn’t make much sense to pay private debt collectors a 25% commission for a function that can be carried out much more efficiently by the federal government, " said Rep. Cardin, a member of the Ways & Means Committee.

In a report submitted to the IRS Oversight Board in September 2002, former IRS Commissioner Charles Rossotti made clear that the IRS is more efficient in collecting taxes. His report stated that if Congress were to appropriate an additional $296 million to hire more IRS compliance employees, the IRS could collect an additional $9.47 billion. According to Rossotti, every $1 spent on collection would net $31.

<more>
<link> http://www.cardin.house.gov/News.asp?ARTICLE3099=19378

[pnutchuck]

7. Yes and it's going to be implemented this summer and be in full swing by

January. The article also says that the IRS is going to turn over our confidential information to these collection agencies.

[Tux]

8. Do smell what Bush is cooking?

Another S&L Banks?

[pnutchuck]

11. Hadn't put that one together yet... nt

[atommom]

6. Link -- very interesting article!

And it sounds like a horrible, awful, no-good idea.

Things are supposed to go better this time because of three significant changes between the current proposal and the pilot:
•Debt collection agencies will try to resolve the collection cases. In the 1996 test, the agencies only reminded tax scofflaws about their overdue tax payments and suggested payment options.
•The IRS will pay the debt collection agencies based on a percentage of the dollars they help collect, instead of the flat fee paid to the pilot agencies for locating and contacting taxpayers, regardless of whether that communication resulted in a payment. The current proposal is 25 percent.
•The IRS will electronically transmit taxpayer and debt information to the collection agencies, unlike in 1996 when the agency's computers could not communicate such data to outside computers.

IRS employees are prohibited from being evaluated and rewarded on the amount of taxes they collect. A major measure of their work performance is whether the taxpayers they've encountered feel they were treated professionally and courteously and received clear and helpful explanations.

But the first change replaces bureaucrats well-versed in the tax code and legal limitations of the government's collection authority with call center employees working in an industry not known for providing extensive training or promoting ethical customer service.
The second gives collection agencies a huge financial incentive to put pressure on people to pay up — and a potential reason to bend the rules to keep the dollars flowing into their own pockets.

IRS Commissioner Mark Everson testified before Congress in 2003 that private collection agencies will be "prohibited from threatening or intimidating taxpayers."
But the industry that seems to violate the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act the most is the debt collection industry, according to the Federal Trade Commission.


http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/business/buggs/3114752

[pnutchuck]

9. Just the idea that these vulture debt collectors are going to have my

private information to use against me for further debt collection is just horrifying. "Back in the USSR!"

[Nikki Stone 1]

13. This should have been front page news

This is one more step towards the return of debtor's prisons.

[AntiCoup2K4]

14. You're on the right track, but it won't be debtor's prison this time.

Instead it will be paying off your debts by "serving your country" :eyes: in the next PNAC/Likud invasion.