Boosh eliminated the IRS auditors who examined the wealthiest taxpayers' returns.

[lpbk2713]

Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/23/business/23tax.html

It was their job to make the wealthiest taxpayers pay their fair share. BushCo eliminated these positions as part of their war on the Middle Class. It should be one of Obama's top priorities to resume scrutiny of these favored people who have been getting by with a wink and a nod from the corrupt BushCo Regime.

But six I.R.S. estate tax lawyers whose jobs are likely to be eliminated said in interviews that the cuts were just the latest moves behind the scenes at the I.R.S. to shield people with political connections and complex tax-avoidance devices from thorough audits.

The six I.R.S. tax lawyers, some of whom were willing to be named, all said that clear evidence of fraud was pursued vigorously by the agency, but that when audits showed the use of complicated schemes to understate the value of assets, the I.R.S. had become increasingly reluctant to pursue cases.

The lawyers said that the risk analysis system the I.R.S. used to evaluate whether to pursue such cases gave higher-level officials cover to not pursue tax cheats and, in the process, emboldened the most aggressive tax advisers to prepare gift and estate tax returns that shortchanged the government.

[MADem]

1. This article is ancient---July 23, 2006 nt

[lpbk2713]

2. Are you serious? You do know that this is not the LBN Forum, right?

I'm referring to the action Bush took AT THE TIME THAT HE ACTED and that Obama ought to TAKE ACTION TO RECTIFY it.

[MADem]

4. Yes, and I also know posting articles that are almost three years old is a bit over the top

They've changed IRS directors since then.

Say, how about I post an article about the Nixon Inauguration here? That's salient to the season, anyway. Right church, wrong pew.

You screwed up. Admit it.

[KansDem]

9. "...posting articles that are almost three years old is a bit over the top"

Probably, but in recent light of the discovery of tax cheats using Lichtenstein bank accounts it could be helpful to see how Bush's tax cuts for the wealthiest, coupled with his termination of IRS agents who oversee this group of tax payers, gave them the geld to hide away in overseas accounts. All in the name of "trickle-down economics."

The Internal Revenue Service said Tuesday that it was beginning enforcement action against “more than 100 U.S. taxpayers” on suspicion of evading taxes through investments in Liechtenstein. The I.R.S. was approached last year by an informant with data from the LGT Group, said Barry Shott, deputy commissioner for international affairs in the agency’s large and medium-size business division.

--more--
nytimes

There seems to be a pattern here:
1) Introduce "trickle-down" economics and the tax cuts for the wealthy who will "invest" their new wealth in economy-stimulating ventures...
2) Get rid of those IRS agents who oversee these "taxpayers..."
3) Let the tax cheats hide their new wealth oversees...

It's becoming more clear how BushCo helped Bush's base of "haves and have mores."

[MADem]

14. That story is almost a year old, too. It's interesting, sure.

Probably a more interesting, and more recent, story is this one:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123137082138162537.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
NEW YORK -- A wide range of people continue to turn themselves in to the Internal Revenue Service for not reporting taxable securities in UBS-managed Swiss bank accounts, and so far seem to be avoiding serious punishment.

However, some may ultimately face civil or criminal penalties for evading taxes as the IRS and the Department of Justice review the accounts, according to a tax attorney.

The DOJ is looking into whether a group of 19,000 UBS clients evaded U.S. tax-reporting requirements through Swiss bank accounts. The probe centers on UBS's cross-border business, which allowed U.S. residents to bank with UBS AG bank branches in Switzerland. (UBS is closing the business, and began that process before the DOJ started investigating the firm.)

Getting a Pass
"Just because you get a pass from the IRS does not necessarily mean you will get a pass from the DOJ," said Edward M. Robbins Jr., a partner at the law firm Hochman, Salkin, Rettig, Toscher & Perez in Beverly Hills, Calif.



The IRS is in "collection mode" this year. They're looking for money, big time.

Here's a proposal for overhauling the tax code--hard to know if BHO will go for it:

if Obama is looking for ideas, he might consult with Nina Olson, the national taxpayer advocate at the IRS. In her annual report to Congress, released yesterday, Olson makes a persuasive case for overhauling the U.S. tax system.

"The largest source of compliance burdens for taxpayers, and the IRS, is the overwhelming complexity of the tax code," Olson writes. "The only meaningful way to reduce these burdens is to simplify the tax code enormously."

It's common sense and worth a read, but a few figures stand out:

Americans spend 7.6 billion hours annually trying to figure out their federal taxes. Working eight-hour days, five days a week, 50 weeks a year, that's the equivalent of 3.8 million full-time workers.
At the average hourly wage of $27.54, that tax-preparation time amounts to $193 billion, or 14 percent of aggregate income tax receipts.
A staggering 60 percent of individual taxpayers are so bewildered by the tax code that they hire outside preparers. An additional 22 percent buy computer software.
The bottom line: Paring the tax code's 3.7 million words to something comprehensible would effectively return money to the taxpayer at no "cost" to the government. Individual taxpayers could do something else with their time, the small-business owner could concentrate on creating income, and the IRS (and, consequently, the taxpayer again) could spend less money on compliance and enforcement. Heck, taken all together, tax receipts from a simplified tax system might actually rise.

http://www.usnews.com/blogs/sam-dealey/2009/01/08/the-case-for-overhauling-a-us-tax-system-even-congress-doesnt-understand.html

[Myrina]

3. ... yeah and instead hired a bunch of partisan clowns...

... to audit average working-folk with Democratic and grassroots leanings, like myself.
And now that they've got the keys to my records, they're digging and digging and digging ... and making my life hell.



:(

[MADem]

5. They're taking a slightly kinder, gentler approach now

WASHINGTON -- The Internal Revenue Service announced steps to be more lenient on taxpayers who are unable to pay taxes owed, in recognition of the financial troubles reverberating throughout the economy....Mr. Shulman announced five specific steps the IRS is taking to be more flexible. He said he has given tax assistors greater authority to suspend collection actions in certain circumstances, such as when a taxpayer has recently lost a job, is relying solely on Social Security benefits or is facing steep, unexpected medical costs.






http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123128814241059283.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

[Dumak]

8. The OP posted an article about the IRS' position

on the wealthiest taxpayers. Your posting has to do with people having trouble paying their taxes. Two different subjects. I appreciate the OP reminding us of what was done in 2006, and you were way over the line in being so cranky about it.

[MADem]

11. Why are you characterizing my comments?

"Cranky?"

I am not at all "cranky." Check your mirror, dear!

The OP is an old story. That is a simple fact.

The IRS story that's current at this point in time has more to do with the private debt collection agencies that were hired a few years back--a push is on to encourage Obama to dump those people.

http://www.onwallstreet.com/asset/article/2648641/lawmakers-urge-obama-stop-irs-debt.html

The topic is the IRS. Anything tangential to the discussion is not "over the line."

But thanks for hopping in and giving me your cranky two cents anyway.

Try to take things less personally. You'll be happier for it.

:hi:

[Myrina]

15. ... the problem is ...

... none of those scenarios apply to me.

They are digging and auditing and refiguring shit - even though I have family court papers to show that I really am my daughter's mother and I have legal custody of her - & reversing all of my Head of Household's/claiming her as a dependent ...
basically erasing her from my tax returns for the last 15 years and making it look like I owe close to $40k.

They don't care what any court document says, if the IRS decides she doesn't exist and I'm not eligible to claim her, then, apparently, they're right.

:mad:

[MADem]

17. I hope you have a lawyer, because it sounds like you need one.

If you have proof the kid is yours and you have legal custody, there's something else going on.

Do you have SOLE legal custody? Or do you share said custody? Is someone else paying all (or at least more than half) of the child's support expenses, and consequently can claim the exemption? Was there an exemption agreement at the time of divorce?

Is that where the problem lies?

A family law lawyer could sort you out soon enough. You should consult one if you haven't already.

If there are documents that authorize someone else to claim the child as an exemption though, you're outta luck.

http://divorcesupport.about.com/od/childsupportresources/f/childsupp_tax.htm

[gratuitous]

6. Eliminate positions that generate revenue?

Okay, aside from the bad public policy, it's also just plain dumb to eliminate positions that are net revenue generators. So they don't even have the bad excuse of saying that they're trying to cut spending since these attorneys would almost surely bring in more revenue than their positions cost.

Yes, I would like to see the new administration collect taxes as zealously from the overrich as they do from me. I don't mind paying my own taxes; I'd like to see the people deriving the greatest economic benefit from our system paying their fair share as well.

[MADem]

12. That's not the whole story, though

They hired a couple of private firms to do debt collection. This is where the ham-handed problems came in, aside from the focus on "quick quarters" as opposed to "slow dollars."

The private firms were bullying people, and going after the smaller settlements. I guess they were paid by the resolution, not the amount, perhaps?

In any event, a move is on to persuade Obama to dump those guys: http://www.onwallstreet.com/asset/article/2648641/lawmakers-urge-obama-stop-irs-debt.html

Lawmakers Urge Obama to Stop IRS Debt Collectors
WebCPA
December 23, 2008
Leaders of the House Ways and Means Committee wrote to President-elect Barack Obama asking him to end the Internal Revenue Service's private debt collection service.

Ways and Means Chairman Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., and Oversight Subcommittee Chairman John Lewis, D-Ga., along with other Democrats, sent the letter asking Obama to stop the controversial practice of using private contractors to collect debts on behalf of the IRS. National Taxpayer Advocate Nina Olson has also criticized the program for costing more than the IRS's own debt collection efforts. Currently, two companies, Pioneer Credit Recovery and CBE Group, are under contract with the program (see IRS Rehires Private Tax Collectors).....

[Initech]

7. Its like George Carlin said:

"The rich make all of the money, pay none of the taxes. The middle class pays all the taxes, does all the work. And the poor are there - just to scare the shit out of the middle class. Keep them showing up at those jobs!!!"

[wildbilln864]

10. this needs to be on the greatest page! nt

[snooper2]

13. Good thing is though- the returns are still there...

How far back can the IRS go again....


Get the rat bastards

[Joe Chi Minh]

16. I believe there is such a thing as "clawback". It seems to me to be needed in a major

way from, at least, the worst of our countries' plunderers.

[Festivito]

18. And rewarded people who kept us from pre-uncovering 9/11.

So, I guess it all balances.