House Republicans Go After IRS Agent Funding But Leave Technology Funds Alone Because Even the GOP Agrees IRS Call Wait Times Suck
This lady is going to be on hold for a long time, her phone isn’t even plugged in to the wall. The GOP-led House voted 221-210 on Monday to eliminate almost 90 percent of $80 billion in new IRS funding under the Inflation Reduction Act, much of which is supposed to be used to fund […]
The New IRS Recruiting Brochure is WILD
Remember how the military tried to recruit Call of Duty players to be drone pilots? Maybe the IRS can take a page from their book and convince young people there is first-person fun to be had bum-rushing naughty taxpayers’ homes. This isn’t actually from a recruiting brochure, you guys.
Your Naughty IRS Agent of the Day
His name is Bryan Cho (aka “Yong Hee Cho”) and he was the recipient of a 10-count indictment from the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Eastern District of New York on Jan. 26, charged with possession of a fake foreign passport, aggravated identity theft, making false statements during a background check, and wire fraud in […]
Man Learns It’s Probably Best to Just Pay Your Taxes and Not Threaten to Kill IRS Agents
While many of us were running off for a 3 day weekend, one Andrew A. Calcione of Rhode Island was found guilty in U.S. District Court of one count each of threatening to assault and murder an IRS revenue agent and threatening to assault and murder the agent’s family. Chief Judge William E. Smith delivered […]
IRS Agents Pack Heat, Rarely Discharge
IRS agents have guns. By that I don't mean huge biceps.1 I mean the things Ted Nugent uses to shoot elk and open beers and unclog toilets. In 2008, when I was about to graduate with my B.S. in accounting, I attended the job fair at Utah Valley State College. No CPA firms were there […]
Judge Not Amused by Nebraska Man’s Dirty Trick to Discourage IRS Agents
There really should be a warning about operating heavy machinery in the presence of Service employees: An Omaha man has been sentenced to three years’ probation after dumping dirt from a front-end loader truck at the feet of Internal Revenue Service officers who were trying to seize his boss’s dump truck. U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas D. Thalken […]
Oregon Man’s Encounter with IRS Agent Oddly Similar to the Plot of a Bad Porno Movie
Today in bizarre sexual encounters with government employees news, a Fall Creek, Oregon man has filed a lawsuit against an IRS agent for "coerc[ing] him into having sex with her after suggesting that the liaison could keep him out of tax trouble." Dora Abrahamson claims to have known Vincent Burroughs when she called him to inform that […]
IRS Not Overly Concerned About Agents That Are a Little Clumsy with Their Sidearms
The latest treasure dug up by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration: [Criminal Investigation's] firearms training and qualification requirements generally met or exceeded those of other Federal law enforcement agencies. However, TIGTA found that some CI special agents did not meet all firearms training and qualification requirements. Field office management did not always take […]
Here’s a Video Game That Features an IRS Agent Fighting Alligators and Zombies While on the Hunt for a Missing Tax Form That We Thought You Should Know About
For you overgrown adolescent boys out there looking for your next gamer challenge and Madden '13 just isn't doing it for you, let us present Alligators on a Bridge. It's April 15th and Tim the IRS Agent is nearly finished checking the tax forms he’s been assigned. Tim has had to deal with reading multiple […]
Layoff Watch ’11: The IRS Says Tomato
You may have heard some carefully coiffed pols shouting about the need for our government to “cut spending.” If you’re a Republican, this means everything is fair game with the exception of the defense budget. For Dems, it’s entitlements. Since these two sacred cows of the federal budget dare not be touched, all the stuff in between is on the chopping block. One of the easier areas of government for pols to offer up for sacrifice is the Treasury Department, specifically the IRS. Because GOD KNOWS we don’t need “a goon squad 5,000 IRS agents tromping around the country.”
It appears that all the budget thumping has worked and the IRS is looking for volunteers to help move this along:
The Internal Revenue Service has offered buyouts to 5,400 employees as it begins preparing for a likely budget cut of more than 3 percent.
The agency, which had 94,711 workers in fiscal 2010, plans to accept no more than 1,600 buyout applications. A second round of buyouts could follow. The Obama administration has said that as many as 4,000 IRS jobs could be cut over the next year, including some that would reduce tax enforcement and collections.
“This is really focused on trying to deal with the current budget situation and the uncertainty that we’re facing at this point in time,” Beth Tucker, deputy IRS commissioner for operations support, said in an interview today.
IRS officials directed the first round of buyout offers to back-office employees who don’t interact with taxpayers. A potential second set of cuts would affect “a wider range of employees who deal directly with taxpayers in service and enforcement matters,” commissioner Douglas Shulman wrote in a Nov. 4 memo to employees.
First off, putting 4,000 people out of work won’t make for a balanced budget. Secondly, I’m not saying these “buyouts” are actually “layoffs” but if you consider the fact that these “buyouts” include current employees will receive money and not be required to report to their cubicles EVER AGAIN sounds pretty similar to how “layoffs” work. Maybe it’s just me.
IRS Offers Buyouts to 5,400 Employees [Bloomberg]
IRS Agent Wants to Know If There’s Life After Government Work
Welcome to the when-do-the-blackouts-start edition of Accounting Career Emergencies. In today’s edition, an IRS revenue agent is thinking about the future and wonders if there is anything to look forward to after a stretch inside the House of Shulman. Will he be greeted with contempt or disdain by potential employers outside of the Treasury Department?
Trapped in your job? Not sure if you can bottle up your rage during your upcoming compensation discussion? Need ideas for your next [email protected] and we’ll come up with something to bring everyone closer together.
Back to the Shulman Soldier:
Dear Career Advice Brain Trust,
I am currently a freshly minted IRS revenue agent in the Northeast right out of school. I’m the guy that audits the tax returns of small business and the self-employed (Schedule C’s and 1120’s). I’ve been at the job for about 10 months, and lately I’ve been starting to wonder: if this whole IRS thing doesn’t pan out, what are my options? Do public accounting firms of any size see any value in the experience gained here? From what I’ve experienced, employment at the IRS is a one-way street, either attracting grads with the ink still wet from their degree, or mid-career public accountants who value personal and family time more than money. Since I’m a young grad with no family to speak of, I feel like a lot of the non-monetary benefits are lost on me.
This job has its pros and cons. It’s probably one of the safest jobs in the country for anyone with an accounting degree, and it’s borderline illegal to work more than 40 hours per week because we’re unionized. Supposedly once you’re in for a few years, you can do “anything you want” within the organization, but I find that hard to believe because due to our reduced FY 2012 budget, we’re the last class to be hired for a while, so who is going to keep doing my job when everyone goes to do “anything they want?” Also, after 3-4 years, the salaries plateau big time, and we definitely make less than our public accounting counterparts throughout our careers. Furthermore, it literally takes an act of Congress to get anything substantial changed.
So my bottom line question to you (and the readers) is this: if I wanted to jump ship and go somewhere that my title carries a little less universal hatred, as well as advance my career prospects, what could I expect for opportunities, particularly in the public accounting sector?
Sincerely,
Agent Curious
Dear Agent Curious,
I’m happy to say that you’re first IRS agent to come to us for advice. Whether that means you value what we have to say or you’re simply desperate isn’t clear but regardless, thanks for reaching out.
Now then. Your problem. Personally, I feel as though the stigma associated with working for the IRS is a little overblown. Just because some of your colleagues chase down loose change and politicians call you names, that doesn’t mean you don’t have skills that aren’t valuable for private employers. The knowledge you are curating about small businesses and their compliance issues are extremely valuable and many CPA firms would gladly talk to you about your experience and how it will work for them and their clients.
Furthermore, with your inside knowledge about the Service and how is picks and chooses returns for audit, you’ll be able to better serve your clients by saying, “I assure you this will result in a Young Buck-esque raid of your business.” This knowledge of the inner workings might even be more valuable than what you actually learn on the job.
Right now, your best opportunities would be with public accounting firms that specialize in tax compliance for small businesses. Just like any other job, if you are able to jump around inside the Service and see various types of returns (partnerships, larger businesses), your skill set will be even more valuable. A few more years doing Doug Shulman’s dirty work could pay big dividends down the road.
Any former/current IRS agents out there with insight? Drop your knowledge in the comments.
One Wouldn’t Think You’d Have to Be Wary of a Tax Prep Business Called “420 Multiservices”
In the Bronx, no less.
According to an indictment unsealed Tuesday in Manhattan federal court, Charles prepared tax returns at a tax preparation business called “420 Multiservices” in Bronx, N.Y., in 2006. Between 2006 and 2007, Charles, 34, Patterson, 29, Nekiya Edwards, 32, and Akmell Edwards, 33, engaged in a scheme to use stolen and other identification information, including names, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers, to file fraudulent tax returns.
[…]
According to the indictment, in March 2008, Patterson was approached by agents of the IRS-CID. During that encounter, Patterson threatened the agents, stating, among other things, “I know you guys got guns, so what,” and “That’s why I kill guys like you.”
Bronx Group Charged in Tax Refund Scheme and Threatening IRS Agents [AT]
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]
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]
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
Accounting News Roundup: Tax Cut Political Football Goes Flat; Google’s Remarkable Tax Planning; Yes, IRS Agents Are Strapped | 10.21.10
Tax Cuts Slide To Back Burner On Campaign Trail [WSJ]
It’s a sign that a decision by Democratic leaders, to put off a vote on extending the tax cuts until after the Nov. 2 elections, may be paying off politically.
“It’s harder to write an ad portraying a vote that hasn’t happened yet,” said Brian Gaston, a former senior aide to House GOP leaders and now a lobbyist at the Glover Park Group.
Google 2.4% Rate Shows How $60 Billion Lost to Tax Loopholes [Bloomberg]
Google y $3.1 billion in the last three years using a technique that moves most of its foreign profits through Ireland and the Netherlands to Bermuda.
Google’s income shifting — involving strategies known to lawyers as the “Double Irish” and the “Dutch Sandwich” — helped reduce its overseas tax rate to 2.4 percent, the lowest of the top five U.S. technology companies by market capitalization, according to regulatory filings in six countries.
TUI Travel CFO Quits After Accounting Error [Dow Jones]
In an embarrassing admission, the company said an ongoing audit for the fiscal year ended September 2010 had highlighted the accounting error in the integration of IT systems in its U.K. mainstream business that had accrued over a period of four to five years and which increased its total write-off for 2009 from GBP29 million to GBP117 million.
Chief Executive Peter Long told Dow Jones Newswires that the issue had been identified when it reported its third-quarter results but continued to investigate the matter and “only last night were we able to determine the scale of the problem.”
Banks Clueless on Foreclosure Mess Severity [Jonathan Weil/Bloomberg]
The biggest U.S. mortgage lenders and servicers say they’re putting the foreclosure mess behind them, and that it never was a major problem. The reality is these companies are so big and unmanageable, the people in charge of running them have no way to know if that is true.
One thing that remains unknowable is how many flawed home- mortgage records and foreclosure proceedings are out there waiting to be unearthed. Dozens of federal and state agencies are investigating. It’s anyone’s guess what they might turn up.
NJ man cashes $158G check IRS mistakenly sent him [Asbury Park Press]
He figured no one would notice.
For ‘B-to-B’ Companies, Finding Facebook ‘Friends’ Can Be a Struggle [WSJ]
These days, even small “business-to-business” concerns like Bill.com are experimenting with social media, perceiving the popular online hangouts as low-cost, easy-to-use venues for attracting new customers and retaining existing ones. But unlike their consumer-focused counterparts—retailers that sell smartphones, jeans, games and other personal products—so-called B-to-B businesses seem to be having a harder time connecting with their target audience.
Some IRS agents carry guns, too, agents tell UAB accounting student group [Birmingham News]
“My first day on the job, I thought, ‘Why are they carrying guns?'” said Donald Smith, a UAB graduate and special agent with the IRS-Criminal Investigation unit.
Korea wants G20 to delay accounting standard consolidation [Korea Times]
Apparently they have a say in the matter
An IRS agent walks into a bar…
…which is never good.
IRS agents searched Vic’s Food and Spirits, which is owned by Vic Center, at about 9 a.m. Tuesday as well as two other properties owned by Center, said an employee.
“We had a visit,” said Warren Oliver, the tavern’s bartender. “They took all of our lists, numbers and papers — everything, with them.”
Young Buck feels your pain, Warren Oliver.
IRS agents search area tavern [Dayton Daily News]
Two Days After the IRS Took His Favorite Scarface Poster, Young Buck Filed for Chapter 13 Bankruptcy
Look, maybe if shotgun-toting IRS Agents kicked down your door and took your video games, a five-figure watch and a movie poster that has far more sentimental value than any of you can appreciate, then you might know Young Buck’s frame of mind.
If not, then you best button it.
Two days after every material possession in your house is taken away (and if you’re a hip-hop artist, material possessions are pretty much everything) you’re bound to re-examine your life.
Brown proposes having his label, Cashville Records, dock his pay $12,500 a month for 60 months, for a total of $750,000. The bankruptcy filing claims Brown earns a total of $19,170 a month.
The entertainer filed for Chapter 13 on Aug. 5. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge George C. Paine accepted the proposed plan and ordered the payroll deductions Aug. 20. Brown will be free to keep his additional income, including royalty payments.
In other words, he’ll be back to Scarface wallpaper in no time.
Rapper Young Buck files for Chapter 13 bankruptcy after IRS raid [The Tennessean]
For Some Unknown Reason, The IRS Confiscated a Nearly Worthless Scarface Poster in Young Buck Raid
Earlier in the month you may recall the story of hip-hop artist Young Buck being on the wrong side of a IRS raid that involved some of those shiny shotguns.
At that time, we learned that the agents seized several items – recording equipment, jewelry, furniture, his platinum wall plaques – even Mr Buck’s PlayStation (he says it was his son’s but, come on).
Anyway, we now learn that agents also confiscated a $31k Breitling Bentley watch AND a Scarface movie poster with an approximate value of…$10.
We’re not too familiar with IRS protocols, so perhaps when someone’s house is raided, the standard operating procedure is to take literally everything. The furniture. The porno collection. Worthless movie posters that there are literally tens of thousands of copies of. It all goes.
Presumably, the agents could have sold the poster to a kid on the street for a few bucks so they could get coffee but it would still be only enough money for one or two coffees. Or maybe it was enough for one (one!) cover at the local strip joint for the post-raid celebration. Or maybe on of the guys/gals really, really, really wanted that poster. Who knows?
Motivation aside, it certainly serves as another fine example of IRS shrewdness when it comes to collection efforts.
$31,000 watch among items seized from Young Buck’s home [The Tennessean]
This Could Easily Be a Member of Congress
“We are grateful to the courageous taxpayer who came forward to notify the United States attorney’s office of a corrupt public servant.”
~ U.S. Attorney Todd Jones is really just referring to that IRS agent who needed $9,700.
IRS Agent/Hero Thwarts Robbery Attempt, Shooting Suspect
This guy/gal is going to get a big slap on the back from Doug Shulman:
An Internal Revenue Service criminal investigations special agent shot and wounded one person during an apparent robbery attempt in San Francisco’s Bayview District overnight, police and an IRS spokeswoman said.
Our hero was apparently on duty at the time which, apparently, isn’t strange:
[IRS Spokeswoman Arlette Lee] said agents are on call 24 hours.
“It is not unusual for IRS agents to be out at different times of the morning or evening,” Lee said.
Lee said IRS special agents carry firearms but could not immediately confirm that the agent involved in the shooting had fired a service weapon.
In other news, IRS Agents also eat but are impervious to coffee.
IRS agent shoots suspect during robbery attempt [Mercury News]
Accounting News Roundup: Bankruptcy Examiner to Investigate WaMu Failure; Ex-KPMG Tax Principal Pleads Guilty; UK Inspector Says Audits Need ‘Significant Improvement’ | 07.21.10
WaMu Shareholders Win Court Investigation of Biggest U.S. Bank Failure [Bloomberg]
WaMu gets their very own Anton Valukas! Colorful claims to come? “Shareholders of Washington Mutual Inc. won court approval of a new investigation of the biggest U.S. bank failure, further delaying the company’s effort to reorganize in bankruptcy.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Mary F. Walrath in Wilmington, Delaware, agreed that an examiner should be appointed to review WaMu’s assets, including the value of a potential lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase & Co. and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. for their role in the 2008 collapse of Washington Mutual Bank.”
Ex-IRS agent pleads guilty [WaPo]
John Venuti was also with KPMG from 2002 to until this past January. WaPo reports that he was a “tax consultant and principal.”
“According to the plea agreement, Venuti did not file federal tax returns from 2001 to 2006. Each year, though, he requested and was granted a six-month extension, and made a total of $97,060 in payments along with the extension requests. Authorities said he owes more than $789,000 in back taxes.”
Reckitt to Buy Durex Maker SSL [WSJ]
“Pushing further into the lucrative over-the-counter medical market, U.K. consumer-goods firm Reckitt Benckiser PLC agreed on Wednesday to acquire health-care-product company SSL International PLC, in a deal that values the world’s biggest condom maker at £2.54 billion ($3.88 billion).”
FASB Reveals Second Attempt at Standard on Contingencies [Compliance Week]
“The standard differs from one the FASB published in June 2008, which called on companies to use some conjecture and provide estimates of possible outcomes. Corporate counsel in particular buried FASB with objections that the proposed approach would force disclosure of privileged information, especially by giving legal adversaries access to information that would compromise the outcome of disputes. The current proposal steers clear of any requirement for companies to make any predictions or estimates about possible outcomes.”
FTSE 100 audits require “significant improvement”, inspectors find [Accountancy Age]
“Auditors have also been accused of altering documents before handing them to regulators and putting cost savings ahead of quality, in the review by the Audit Inspection Unit (AIU).
The report raised a number of concerns following its inspection of 109 audits from AIM and the FTSE 350.
The report also found some cases where partners signed audit reports before the audit was complete and one instance when an auditor tried to alter an internal file after the AIU requested it. Auditors had also changed internal materiality thresholds, which effectively reduced their workload, and had also not applied enough scepticism to internal asset valuations.”
IRS Agent Lures Taxpayer with Starbucks to Attempt an Unwelcome Strip Search
Allegedly!
First sign of danger should have been the desire to meet a Starbucks.
The spokesman for the IRS’ Fresno location referred us to the New York spokeswoman (for reasons that we don’t quite understand) who has yet to return our call.
One IRS Agent Needs to Work on His Bribery Technique
An Internal Revenue Service agent is charged with accepting a bribe from two business owners in exchange for lowering their taxes.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office says 40-year-old Roger Anthony Coombs met with the two owners on May 8 to discuss an IRS audit of their businesses. Prosecutors say Coombs offered to reduce the $60,000 the business owners owed in taxes to $11,000 if they would pay him $9,700.
Coombs was arrested Wednesday after the business owners reported the offer to law enforcement officers.
How does a $49k reduction in taxes equate to a $9,700 pay off? Were these business owners more interested in greasing him $9,700 for a $0 tax liability? Because if that was the case, this happened in Minnesota, not the South, where that sort of thing could go unnoticed.
Or maybe they got pissed after he turned down their offer to seal the deal with a Starbucks?
Nonviolent Measures Prevail in Case Involving Phony IRS Agent
You could make the assumption that since Sherry Lynn Vertoch was merely posing as an IRS agent that the hoteliers didn’t have any cause to take any violent action. Had she actually been an IRS agent we probably could have expected some sort of shooting, bombing, plane-crashing or torture performed for the sake of American tradition.
A woman who racked up two years of unpaid lodging in Novato while posing as a federal tax agent was granted probation by a federal judge Tuesday and ordered to pay $55,000 to the hotel owners.Sherry Lynn Vertoch pleaded guilty in February to impersonating a federal officer. Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker in San Francisco accepted a recommendation by federal prosecutors and Vertoch’s lawyer to place her on supervised probation for five years rather than sending her to prison.
Fake IRS agent told to pay $55,000 hotel bill [SF Chronicle]
IRS Commish: We’ll Send You a Letter if You’re Uninsured, Not Heavily Armed Agents
This is disappointing on a multitude of levels. On the one hand, the notion of thousands of IRS agents running around the country, kicking doors is kind of exciting.
On the other, if crazed tax-haters can’t threaten the lives of IRS Agents who can they threaten? The census only occurs once every ten years and threatening to gun down OSHA employees just doesn’t seem to be as effective.
Doug Shulman spoke at the National Press Club yesterday and assured everyone (despite what Dave Camp or Ron Paul says) that agents will not be storming your house packing heat if you don’t purchase insurance. The IRS will be counting on insurance companies to help them run identify those who are skipping on the required coverage.
He said insurers eventually will be required to file a document similar to Form 1099 used by financial institutions to report investment income. The agency will send letters to the uninsured notifying them fines could be deducted from their tax refunds for refusing to comply with the new law, Shulman said.
“These are not the kinds of things we send agents out about,” Shulman said. “These are things where you get a letter from us.”
We imagine the letter won’t be particularly friendly but it’s a far cry from jack-booted thugs pointing firearms at your head.
Shulman Says IRS Has Few ‘Punitive’ Ways to Enforce Health Law [Bloomberg BusinessWeek]
You’re Wasting Your Time if You Attempt to Bribe an IRS Agent with Starbucks
As we’ve recently learned, IRS Agents are a zealous bunch. If you’re out of compliance you can bet the life of your labrador that they will run you down for the overdue tax, regardless of the sum.
Now perhaps you’ve been thinking that a little bribery might take care of things if you find yourself in a bit tax trouble. IRS Agents are human(?) after all; they fall ill to the temptations of this world just like the rest of us. And because they most likely have some sort of accounting background, they are most certainly caffeine abusers and thus, Starbucks whores.
But an Agent’s first responsibility is to serve the American Taxpayer and your attempts to tempt these civil servants with sweet, venti-sized, mega-calorie caffeinated beverages WILL NOT WORK:
Kim Oahn Thi Tran, also known as Jennifer Kim Tran, faced a tax liability of more than $13,287 for the 2006 and 2007 tax years on unreported income of $30,334, authorities said.
In hopes of lowering her tax liability, Tran sent a package on Nov. 30 to IRS revenue agent Imad Hararah that contained promissory notes and a $100 gift card for Starbucks Coffee that read, “To Imad: Enjoy,” investigators said.
Agent Hararah did not fall for this ploy. Nor did he accept the $2,000 that Tran attempted to give him. Instead this presented itself as a perfect opportunity to add charges, “On Dec. 9, Tran gave the agent $1,500, authorities said. In exchange, Hararah gave her a phony document that made Tran believe that she had a zero balance for 2006 and 2007 tax years.”
Does this guy love his job or what? Not cold hard cash nor natural stimulant will distract this man from doing his job. We can only assume that his brethren are of the same cloth and soon we’ll hear about Agents turning down dates with Lane Kiffin.
Woman charged with trying to bribe IRS agent [SF Chronicle]
The IRS, Not Too Hung Up on Priorities, Demands Delinquent Taxes of Four Cents
In this morning’s roundup we gave a couple of examples of why you should consider giving the IRS a break and remember that they’re civil servants just doing their jobs. All the violence, jokes and resentment are a little self-serving so maybe we should all just back off.
And then we heard about a couple of jackbooted agents (armed to the teeth, presumably) heading over to Herv’s Metro Car Wash in Sacramento to demand some delinquent taxes from the owner Aaron Zeff.
“They were deadly serious, very aggressive, very condescending,” says Harv’s owner, Aaron Zeff…
“It’s hilarious,” he says, “that two people hopped in a car and came down here for just 4 cents. I think (the IRS) may have a problem with priorities.”
How on Earth could two agents be ‘deadly serious, very aggressive, very condescending’ over four f—ing cents? How serious are they required to take their jobs? In the job description does it explain “the collection of delinquent taxes are to be vigorously pursued, regardless of the sum”?
Plus, the letter states $202.31 of penalties and interest are supposedly due on the delinquent portion. Has the IRS gotten so desperate for funds that it has delved into loan sharking? What’s more, Zeff has a letter from October 2009 stating that he ‘has filed all required returns and addressed any balances due,’ which now makes us think that the Service is pulling names out of hat and saying “who is our delinquent taxpayer of the day?”
It’s hard to believe that with just a few days prior to the first corporate filing deadline of 2010, that these two agents didn’t have anything better to do. Someone could have sent them to a sorting facility or, God forbid, have them review some returns. Jesus, put them on loan to the Utah branch if nothing else. They need all the help they can get over there.
IRS visits Sacramento carwash in pursuit of 4 cents [Sacramento Bee via TaxProf]
Hotel Doesn’t Like Being Duped by a Phony IRS Agent; Manages a Nonviolent Response
About a month ago we briefly mentioned Sheryl Lynn Vertoch who had been “staying at the Inn Marin Hotel in Novato, California for over seven years telling the staff there that she was an IRS agent.” Her cover was blown, not by hotel pool boys turned crack-squad investigators, but by the hotel calling the IRS to complain about their lack of support for this public servant that worked on important cases such as Enron.
Probably feeling a tad sheepish, the hotel is firing back by suing SLV for the $55,175.25 that she owes the hotel.
The hotel, being very thorough of its records (but not necessarily multi-year guests) attached a 24 page invoice to show the charges that Vertoch racked up for “guest fees, expenses and pet charges” from January 21, 2008, to January 26, 2010.
Somehow the hotel’s management/owners/lawyers came to the conclusion that A) the actual IRS wasn’t the cause of the problem and B) the use of a plane, bulldozer or firearm were simply not the best course of action.
Personally, we’re shocked but at the same time relieved that there is a sliver of sanity left in this country.
Novato hotel wants IRS imposter to pay $55,000 tab [Mercury News]
Earlier:
Phony IRS Agent Racks Up $55k Hotel Bill