So, Admit It, You Want 87,000 More IRS Agents

[benenglish]

Tweeter shares horrifying personal story for people who think the IRS is fair or "reasonable"

twitchy.com

I'm not seeing a lot wrong with that story except for the stuff that someone recalling what happened when they were 11 years old probably didn't understand and, therefore, didn't include.

For example, the writer describes how the IRS entered their home and seized stuff. Yeah, that can happen but it's incredibly rare. A federal judge has to sign a writ of entry in order for Revenue Officers to enter a home to conduct a seizure. You could probably count on one hand the number of those that have been issued in each of the last 6 decades.

No officer goes to that much trouble unless there's something really, really bad happening.

I'd bet $100 in a heartbeat that his dad was in contravention of IRC 6672 and, without going into all the details, that means the IRS came down on his dad like a ton of bricks only after his dad spent a very long time looking the other way while his business fraudulently stole money from his 55 employees. Those 55 employees are paying the price for his dad's stupidity, too.

How many times have we agreed around here that stupidity should hurt? This is a pretty good example of that in action.

 

[oldag]

I have not and do not assert the IRS needs 87,000 more employees. Staffing levels aren't the point of this whole thread. The fact that people are needlessly screaming like their hair is on fire is the point.

Sure seemed to me like you were trying to justify the headcount.

Specifically your statement:
"Lessee...the economy has gotten bigger, the population has gotten bigger, everyone but especially tax cheats have gotten more sophisticated, etc., while we let the agency that's supposed to enforce tax law shrink by about 30% during a period when the GDP essentially tripled. Now some money is going back into the agency to do lots of things, including hiring 10s of 1000s of new people, all while many, many 1000s of current employees are retiring."

Sounds like justification for hiring more to me.

 

[benenglish]

GOOD GRACIOUS, B. WAKE UP. Do you not recall the Lerner scandal?

I remember the scandal called the Lerner scandal. But the scandal that she supposedly orchestrated in that drab, one-story building in Cincinnati happened in ways most people don't understand. Lerner was willing to play the good soldier, apologize, refuse to testify, and retire. She was the face of the problem, attracted all the hate, and the whole episode will forever bear her name.

And that's stupid. Until you read and understand the TIGTA report (paying special attention to the stuff it leaves out) and talk to people in the Determinations Unit, the Technical Unit, Exempt Organizations HQ in DC, and Counsel, you can't really understand what happened.

I grant that the IRS was weaponized against the Tea Party and similar groups but Lerner was just a pawn, a figurehead. The people who deliberately delayed the processing of Tea Party paperwork for political reasons were DOJ attorneys in DC.

How much more of a practical use of the IRS as a weapon do you need?

None. In most of this, I agree with you. I'm deeply concerned about the fact that the IRS can be used as a political bludgeon. It's availability as a tool for political machinations has increased exponentially over the last 20+ years. The IRS has the potential to be an absolute terror to the citizenry.

But I really, really hate seeing people get all upset about stuff when they clearly don't have the foggiest notion of how the agency works or how it can be employed to do evil things.

A lotta y'all are giving yourselves lots of unnecessary heartburn.

 

[benenglish]

Sounds like justification for hiring more to me.

It is, perhaps, justification for hiring more but not 87,000! Not by a long shot. I clearly said that goal was ridiculous. The operative quote from me in post 102 is:

The agency shrank by about 30% over about 25 years and now they want to more than double the size of the place in 9 years? Good luck with that; it's a ridiculous goal.

Personally, I'd like to see the IRS be half it's current size and trending even smaller with a more professional workforce administering a much, much thinner tax code.

But for that to happen, our representatives would have to vote for a thinner tax code.

I sincerely doubt that will ever happen. It's just too easy to give away goodies to friends when you're hiding them away in such a gigantic wall of inscrutable text.

 

[wiredgeorge]

Look at the job requirements; why would an IRS agent need to carry? Much of this job ad looks like recruitment for a para military org....

https://www.jobs.irs.gov/resources/job-descriptions/irs-criminal-investigation-special-agent

 

[ZX9RCAM]

Only hiring 300 special agents this year.

 

[benenglish]

Threads merged.

 

[Brains]

Playing devils advocate, might be worth it for some of us to get jobs there and actually see the inside of it. How much does the IRS pay?

 

[oldag]

I remember the scandal called the Lerner scandal. But the scandal that she supposedly orchestrated in that drab, one-story building in Cincinnati happened in ways most people don't understand. Lerner was willing to play the good soldier, apologize, refuse to testify, and retire. She was the face of the problem, attracted all the hate, and the whole episode will forever bear her name.

And that's stupid. Until you read and understand the TIGTA report (paying special attention to the stuff it leaves out) and talk to people in the Determinations Unit, the Technical Unit, Exempt Organizations HQ in DC, and Counsel, you can't really understand what happened.

I grant that the IRS was weaponized against the Tea Party and similar groups but Lerner was just a pawn, a figurehead. The people who deliberately delayed the processing of Tea Party paperwork for political reasons were DOJ attorneys in DC.


None. In most of this, I agree with you. I'm deeply concerned about the fact that the IRS can be used as a political bludgeon. It's availability as a tool for political machinations has increased exponentially over the last 20+ years. The IRS has the potential to be an absolute terror to the citizenry.

But I really, really hate seeing people get all upset about stuff when they clearly don't have the foggiest notion of how the agency works or how it can be employed to do evil things.

A lotta y'all are giving yourselves lots of unnecessary heartburn.

I will sum up and then stop.

The IRS does not need to hire one additional person. All the government agencies are bloated bureaucracies that need to be shrunk.

The IRS has been used for political war. It has become politicized itself and will continue to behave in an unethical manner.

 

[benenglish]

The IRS does not need to hire one additional person. All the government agencies are bloated bureaucracies that need to be shrunk.

The IRS has been used for political war. It has become politicized itself and will continue to behave in an unethical manner.

Just for the record, I agree with every bit of that.

 

[benenglish]

Playing devils advocate, might be worth it for some of us to get jobs there and actually see the inside of it. How much does the IRS pay?

Name the job title/function and I can give you a good idea of the pay.

If you just want to know the basics of how the place works, get a job doing deskside support in IT. Everybody treats those guys like wallpaper, openly talking about all their secrets while the IT guy is in the room replacing a monitor or something.

If you want strategic planning knowledge, get into network administration. Those guys know who's going to do what work where before pretty much anybody else.

And there are other approaches to learning the place, too. It just depends on what you're curious about.

 

[Army 1911]

The IRS only needs two people. One to open the mail and one to deposit the checks .

 

[Brains]

Not saying I'd seriously consider it but I could slide in as a director of software engineering pretty easily.

 

[benenglish]

Not saying I'd seriously consider it but I could slide in as a director of software engineering pretty easily.

The IRS barely has that position. They are so dedicated to wedging COTS software into every possible nook and cranny, it's crazy.

 

[General Zod]

Playing devils advocate, might be worth it for some of us to get jobs there and actually see the inside of it. How much does the IRS pay?

30 pieces of silver...

Whoah...deja vu...

 

[crystalphoto]

Democrat promises more taxes if the party stays in power: report

Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass., said Democrats would look at tax increases should his party hold on its majority in the House following the upcoming midterm elections.

www.foxnews.com

Democratic Rep. Richard Neal of Massachusetts suggested that the House would increase tax rates if his party remains in power following the upcoming midterm elections this fall, according to a congressional reporter.

Neal, the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, said Democrats, should they keep power in the House, will look to raise corporate and individual tax rates in 2023, according to a Bloomberg reporter.

The Inflation Reduction Act, a social spending and tax increase measure that is expected to pass through the House Friday, includes a proposed expansion of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

 

[PhulesAu]

Well Duh.

 

[gll]

Democrat promises more taxes if the party stays in power: report

Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass., said Democrats would look at tax increases should his party hold on its majority in the House following the upcoming midterm elections.

www.foxnews.com

Democratic Rep. Richard Neal of Massachusetts suggested that the House would increase tax rates if his party remains in power following the upcoming midterm elections this fall, according to a congressional reporter.

Neal, the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, said Democrats, should they keep power in the House, will look to raise corporate and individual tax rates in 2023, according to a Bloomberg reporter.

The Inflation Reduction Act, a social spending and tax increase measure that is expected to pass through the House Friday, includes a proposed expansion of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

There's a great idea for Democrat's to campaign on!

 

[Otto_Mation]

Based on the sentiment out there right now, normally, I wouldn't worry about the demtards keeping control of the house. But these aren't normal times and I expect them to lie, cheat and steal elections where they can. We may have a problem.

 

[1911'S 4 Me]

The d's know they will win almost all elections since they control the voting machines.