Category: IRS

The Ol’ Send-an-Envelope-Filled-with-White-Powder-to-the-IRS Trick Still Works for Some People

Besides bomb threats, another sign that the traditional tax season is in full swing is when an IRS office receives an envelope containing white powder. Today, the location in Holtsville, NY got the pleasure.

Nearly 60 workers at an Internal Revenue Service office on eastern Long Island were briefly evacuated after an employee opened an envelope containing a suspicious powder. An IRS spokeswoman says the substance was later determined to be baking soda.

No injuries were reported and it was less than hour before everyone was back to work, which barely enough time to get a bagel and a second cup of coffee. It makes us wonder if any IRS employees secretly wish for a dangerous substance to come in the mail to get out work. Day after day thinking, “God, this is awful. Maybe some anthrax will show up today. Am I that lucky? Probably not. But maybe if I concentrate real hard some will show up. [closes eyes, folds hands] Come on, anthrax. Just this once. Come on anthrax.”

Suspicious powder at NY IRS office is baking soda [AP]

Senators Introduce Bill That Would Require IRS to Produce 310 Million (or so) Receipts

Plenty of horrendous ideas get introduced inside the hallowed walls of Congress but the latest submission from Bill Nelson (D-FL) and Scott Brown (R-MA) ranks right up there:

Sens. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), chairman of the Senate Finance subcommittee on Fiscal Responsibility and Economic Growth, and Scott Brown (R-Mass.) introduced the measure Wednesday that would require the IRS to provide each taxpayer with an itemized list, similar to a grocery store receipt, that shows where their payroll and income taxes are spent. “Taxpayers have a right to know where their money goes, how much Uncle Sam is borrowing on their behalf, and what they get in return for it,” Nelson said.

Yeah, no problem. New responsibilities under healthcare reform, chasing offshore accounts, not to mention your everyday tax compliance and enforcement. This will be a piece of cake since the the Service’s budget is getting slashed.

Senators introduce bill that would provide detailed tax receipt [The Hill]

Man Arrested for Threatening to Bomb IRS Building Would Erect Monument to Austin Plane-crasher ‘If He Had Any Extra Money’

And what’s the reason 64 year-old Leonard Mackey doesn’t have the dough to put up a statue of domestic terrorist, Joseph Stack? It’s not entirely clear but you can bet the IRS has something to do with it:

Leonard C. Mackey, of 1025 W. Wilkes-Barre St., went to the IRS office at 3 W. Broad St. around 3 p.m. saying he was “sick and tired of the IRS harassing him.” He demanded a copy of a 2008 letter indicating he no longer had money, a news release from police said. […] Mackey went on to say he would erect a monument to the guy who blew up the IRS building in Texas. That is, if he had any extra money. As he left the office, he said to the security guard who had asked him on the way in if he had a firearm that “you didn’t ask me about bombs. We have them downstairs.”

It’s sort of cute that he sabotaged himself like that.

Bethlehem: Tax dispute erupts with bomb threat, evacuation and arrest [The Morning Call]

IRS Eases Up on the Tax Liens for the Little People; Celebrities Not So Lucky

Commissioner Doug Shulman said in a statement today that the agency would make it easier for taxpayers to seek withdrawal of liens when they pay a tax debt or make arrangements to pay in installments for debts of less than $25,000. The agency also raised the dollar thresholds before liens are typically filed. “We are making fundamental changes to our lien system and other collection tools that will help taxpayers and give them a fresh start,” Shulman said in the statement. “These steps are good for people facing tough times, and they reflect a responsible approach for the tax system.” [Bloomberg]

An IRS agent walks into a CFO’s office…

This was sent to me by my 69-year-old landlord who is spending his winter in Florida and we humbly present it to you now for your reading pleasure during this lovely busy season.

At the end of the tax year, the IRS office sent an inspector to audit the books of a local hospital. While the IRS agent was checking the books he turned to the CFO of the hospital and said, “I notice you buy a lot of bandages. What do you do with the end of the roll when there’s too little left to be of any use?”

“Good question,” noted the CFO. “We save them up and send them back to the bandage company and every now and then they send us a free box of bandages.”

“Oh,” replied the auditor, somewhat disappointed that his unusual question had a practical answer. But on he went, in his obnoxious way. “What about all these plaster purchases? What do you do with what’s left over after setting a cast on a patient?”

“Ah, yes,” replied the CFO, realizing that the inspector was trying to trap him with an unanswerable question. “We save it and send it back to the manufacturer, and every now and then they send us a free package of plaster.”

“I see,” replied the auditor, thinking hard about how he could fluster the know-it-all CFO. “Well,” he went on, “What do you do with all the leftover foreskins from the circumcisions you perform?”

“Here, too, we do not waste,” answered the CFO. “What we do is save all the little foreskins and send them to the IRS office, and about once a year they send us a complete dick.”

Congressman Todd Akin Doesn’t Want ‘A goon squad of 5,000 IRS agents tromping around the country’

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AS PREDICTED! Republican Congressman Todd Akin of Missouri could barely wait 48 hours before falsely asserting that the new 5,000 employees at the IRS will all be agents that will be breaking down the doors of every freedom loving American to fleece them for every last dime.

“Don’t call me Clay” Akin was giving Treasury Secretary Geithner a hard time about President Obama’s budget yesterday when he thought it necessary to start calling people – Americans that pay taxes, no less – names:

The back-and-forth began after Akin questioned Geithner about President Obama’s fiscal 2012 budget, which includes spending increases for the IRS that could reportedly lead to thousands of more staffers at the agency. The Missouri congressman said he thought energy might be better spent simplifying the tax code. “Not to mention the fact that it’d make us all look better if we don’t have a goon squad of 5,000 IRS agents tromping around the country with the economy the way it is,” Akin said.

Right. Because you looking good is what’s most important, right Congressman? Geithner, not really impressed with a two-bit fly-over representative giving people in his house shit, tried explaining to him that most of the new employees would work in “customer service or information technology [rather] than enforcement” but this fell on deaf ears:

[T]hat argument did not assuage Akin very much. “’I’m from the IRS. I’m here to help you,’” the congressman said. “That’s hard to sell in the state of Missouri.”

Akin probably didn’t think to ask the employees of the nine IRS locations in Missouri about this. Maybe some of them would be able to explain how, you know, working for the IRS is how they put food on the table, put clothes on their kids, etc. etc. etc. You know, the rhetoric you like to use, Congressman.

Republican calls IRS agents a ‘goon squad’ [The Hill]

Oh, By the Way, There’s Still a New 1099 Reporting Requirement for 2012 in the Proposed Budget

As you know, the bane of small businesses across this great land, the 1099 reporting requirement, was repealed by the Senate earlier this month. Despite some maneuvering amongst Senators to be crowned the biggest champion of small business, it seems that everyone agreed that this little sliver of the healthcare reform bill needed to go.

Now the House has taken up the charge but The Hill reports on a portion of President Obama’s proposed budget that is already annoying the hell out of some:

President Obama’s fiscal year 2012 budget still contains a portion of the 1099 provision while eliminating the requirement for goods but retaining it for services. The proposal is expected to raise about $10 billion over 10 years.

The National Federation of Independent Business blasted the new 1099 proposal as a “bait and switch.”

“We are disappointed that the president has not clearly heard what small businesses are saying,” NFIB senior vice president of Federal Public Policy Susan Eckerly said in a statement. “We at NFIB remain committed to helping the president and Congress understand the needs of small business as the budget process moves forward.”

But before you get your panties in a bunch, the Office of Management and Budget can explain:

“The administration recognizes the burden that this expanded information reporting provision will put on small businesses and proposes to repeal the provision,” the document says. “Instead, the administration proposes that a business be required to file an information return for payments for services or for determinable gains aggregating to $600 or more in a calendar year to a corporation (except a tax-exempt corporation); information returns would not be required for payments for property.”

If you call that an explanation.

Ways and Means schedules mark up of 1099 provision [The Hill]

Be Prepared for a New Flood of GOP ‘IRS Agents Will Be Invading Your Homes’ Rhetoric

President Barack Obama proposed increasing the budget for the Internal Revenue Service by 9.4 percent to hire more than 5,000 new employees, most of whom would pursue tax cheats. The president’s fiscal 2012 budget released today sets funding for the tax-collection agency at $13.3 billion, an increase of $1.1 billion from 2010, the last time a full appropriation was made for the IRS. Almost half of the increase, or $460 million, would support the agency’s tax-enforcement programs. Under the plan, the IRS would focus on fighting tax evasion through the use of offshore accounts and cheating by corporate and high-wealth taxpayers. It also would seek out fraudulent tax preparers. [Bloomberg]

IRS: Okay, Fine, Breast Pumps Are Medical Expenses

Apparently Doug Shulman & Co. have backed off the idea that a mother’s milk simply promotes a baby’s nutrition (which is a necessity not a medical condition) akin to orange juice preventing scurvy.

Breast pumps and other lactation supplies are now tax deductible as medical expenses, the Internal Revenue Service said on Thursday, February 10, reversing a long-held position. The new ruling means that families can use pre-tax funds from their flexible spending accounts and health savings accounts for these supplies. Breast pumps typically cost more than $200 and, along with supplies, can run as high as $1,000 in the first year of a baby’s life.

Breast-feeding supplies deductible, IRS rules [Reuters]

Earlier:
What Does the IRS Have Against Boobs?

IRS Announces New ‘Come Out with Your Hands Up Holding Your Offshore Bank Account Number’ Program

Back in 2009, the IRS ran a relatively successful program that encouraged those with offshore bank accounts to cop to their shady tax evading ways and all would be forgiven…with the exception of a small penalty of the assets stashed out of sight. This particular program was primarily focused on UBS customers and for those not willing to play ball, the IRS and DOJ put the screws on the Swiss bank and got them to name names.

The IRS had been hinting that maybe Offshore Amnesty 2.0 was coming and today, they made it official.

From the Times:

The Internal Revenue Service announced a new initiative on Tuesday intended to lure tax evaders, but with stiffer penalties than those offered by a previous program. Under the initiative, Americans with hidden offshore accounts have until Aug. 31 to come forward voluntarily and report the accounts to the I.R.S. in exchange for penalties that, while below what they would ordinarily pay, are still higher than those offered in an earlier amnesty program.

The good news is that the IRS swears – SWEARS! – that you’ll come to no harm, in the criminal sense:

The program makes clear that Americans who come forward will not to face prosecution for tax evasion — something tax lawyers say was more of an open question under the previous program. “When a taxpayer truthfully, timely and completely complies with all provisions of the voluntary disclosure practice, the I.R.S will not recommend criminal prosecution to the Department of Justice,” the I.R.S. said.

So unless the possibility of jail time sounds inviting, we suggest you get on this. We’re all dreaming of August right now.

I.R.S. Offers New Amnesty Deal for Offshore Accounts [NYT]

You Know It’s Officially Tax Season When Someone Threatens an IRS Office with a Bomb

Amiright? Apparently, this guy in Sarasota, Florida was just messing with everyone but, of course, that still doesn’t go over very well with the local authorities.

“About 11:45 a.m. a 59-year-old man walked into the center with a briefcase and a box,” said Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office Capt. Paul Richard. “He placed it on what’s been described to me as a counter top and told personnel there that he had a bomb,” Richard said. IRS security personnel at the office managed to subdue the man and then hand him over to deputies. The office houses 60 employees, who were evacuated during the episode. The sheriff’s office bomb squad later confirmed there was no explosive or destructive device in either the box or the briefcase.

Man threatened Sarasota IRS office with bomb [TBO]

Your Creepy IRS Agent of the Day

Another poorly thought out advance by a man on a woman worthy of these pages.

A 60-year-old IRS agent has been ordered to pay $476,000 in damages after a former tenant sued him for invasion of privacy. The ruling was issued during a recent civil trial in Broward County. According to records, 27-year-old Miranda Goldston found a hidden camera in a DVD/VCR player that came with the three-bedroom townhouse she rented from Kenneth Ryals. The tiny camera hidden in the DVD/VCR was pointed a Goldston’s bed.

Earlier:
Accountant Seeking Sexual Favors Rebuffed; Pelted with Flip-flops