Harsher Tax enforcement on the way.

[stocknup]

Opinion | A Bipartisan Pact to Supersize the IRS

The infrastructure deal would unleash auditors on millions of taxpayers.

www.wsj.com

Some voted for this.....

and yes......some of you actually voted for this.

I have definitely read this statement several times on numerous threads and could not agree more !!
Not sure if it has already been mentioned ................but would make a great new Emogi .
and think how many T-shirts one could sell .

 

[rooster]

Bad IRS stories? I got a couple lol. How about when I got a 2k fine in the mail last year for filing my business taxes after the normal deadline but within the new deadline put in bc of covid.

I legit printed out the tweets from IRS, Steve Munichin and Trump put them in an envelope with a copy of the IRS website page that said what the new deadlines were and mailed it off with a very short letter saying that we followed the guidance from IRS, the treasury secretary and the president.

I had decided that if they wanted that money they were gonna have to take it because no way would we pay a fine for following the law.

they were gracious enough to send back a letter 9 months later that said they applied a one time forgiveness for our transgression and would not be fining us.

still makes my blood boil

Edit: what’s more obnoxious and the reason I think that the new enforcement will go after the middle class is when I got legal consults about it they told me it would be cheaper to pay the fine than to fight it so they advised I fight it on my own or just pay it.

rich folks and bigger corporations that have legal staff or lawyers on retainer can tie up IRS for years and haggle on the fines or back taxes owed. A friend of mine has had lawyers fighting them for the last 3-4 years and the IRS keeps dropping the amount they owe to try to get them to just pay up. He laughs and says the lawyers already bought and paid for so why give up the fight with only a 50% reduction in penalties.

 

[Leadeye]

I think it's more likely that you'll see selective tax enforcement more than harsh tax enforcement. Leadership uses taxes to shape the country and the laws are always written to provide tax relief if you can afford to hire the best. Keeping the code complicated and ever changing provides a good living for tax law and accounting firms. I sure that plenty of money has gone to dc from these groups and the new "super IRS" will help generate revenue for them for many years to come.

Always follow the money

 

[DadSmith]

I'm going to have a slightly different take on this...

My wife and I, mostly her, have enough income and wealth that statistically we are in the top 5% of Americans. Here's the thing, we don't have a big fancy house, don't drive an expensive car, own a boat, etc.

I do not deny that we are doing just fine, and my point is not that we should have those things. It's just that when I look around at the world I can only conclude that the statistics that show us as being among the richest of the rich cannot possibly be correct.

I am sure that some of the disparity is due to different levels of debt, the fact that one can have wealth without having great income, etc. However, I also think that there must also be a considerable amount of tax fraud going on. There really isn't any other way to explain the statistics.

There are way too many people with huge houses, etc. for there to be any other explanation. There has to be statistically relevant income involved to support those purchases.

I have no idea if the proposed expansion of the IRS would work, but as someone who already pays a ton of taxes, I rather like the idea of government going after the tax cheats instead of increasing rates on the people that are already paying too much.

I didn't vote for this, but I support it 100%. If you are aren't cheating on your taxes, this shouldn't bother you.

I disagree.
This is more big government pushing around the citizens and it will be the middle class and poor who can't defend themselves without paying 10's of thousands who will get targeted. They are going to spend 52 billion to gain what 48 billion?
Do you think they will target the rich politicians, and their buddies? Not going to happen. This just makes the blue collar workers bigger targets is all. Squeeze the ones they know can't fight back. Wait for it.


Several years ago I owed $1200. IRS was going to take me to federal court to collect. I tried to set up a payment plan they would not accept. Had to hire a lawyer then they accepted $559 in 6 monthly payments. That's the IRS coming after the blue collar workers not the rich.

 

[JettaKnight]

Have you tried calling the IRS in the last couple of years?
And Congress keeps changing the tax laws at the last moment (or later).

There's two good reasons for more funding.


But yeah the tax code needs simplified, the tax return process needs simplified (send out pre-filled forms), and tax refunds aren't paydays.

 

[jamil]

Here's an idea.
SIMPLIFY the tax code.
And stop having 100 different taxes.
Federal Tax.
State Tax.
Local Tax.
All payable at the end of the month, just like paying your bills.
No withholding from your check, so you don't notice it. Make people type the amount and hit "okay" so they feel exactly how much they're paying.
And whatever formula used to determine your bill should be VERY SIMPLE. Like Jr high school easy.

For federal, 5% across the board flat tax. So for income from a paycheck, you take your paycheck gross, multiply by 5% and that's what you write the check for. No deductions. No exemptions. Of course the government would need to adjust its spending to be in line with its income.

 

[jamil]

I'm going to have a slightly different take on this...

My wife and I, mostly her, have enough income and wealth that statistically we are in the top 5% of Americans. Here's the thing, we don't have a big fancy house, don't drive an expensive car, own a boat, etc.

I do not deny that we are doing just fine, and my point is not that we should have those things. It's just that when I look around at the world I can only conclude that the statistics that show us as being among the richest of the rich cannot possibly be correct.

I am sure that some of the disparity is due to different levels of debt, the fact that one can have wealth without having great income, etc. However, I also think that there must also be a considerable amount of tax fraud going on. There really isn't any other way to explain the statistics.

There are way too many people with huge houses, etc. for there to be any other explanation. There has to be statistically relevant income involved to support those purchases.

I have no idea if the proposed expansion of the IRS would work, but as someone who already pays a ton of taxes, I rather like the idea of government going after the tax cheats instead of increasing rates on the people that are already paying too much.

I didn't vote for this, but I support it 100%. If you are aren't cheating on your taxes, this shouldn't bother you.

Going after tax cheats is fine. But bloating the IRS to get it is not going to work out the way you think. This looks more like weaponizing the IRS to me. **** Joe Biden.

 

[Route 45]

I'm going to have a slightly different take on this...

My wife and I, mostly her, have enough income and wealth that statistically we are in the top 5% of Americans. Here's the thing, we don't have a big fancy house, don't drive an expensive car, own a boat, etc.

I do not deny that we are doing just fine, and my point is not that we should have those things. It's just that when I look around at the world I can only conclude that the statistics that show us as being among the richest of the rich cannot possibly be correct.

I am sure that some of the disparity is due to different levels of debt, the fact that one can have wealth without having great income, etc. However, I also think that there must also be a considerable amount of tax fraud going on. There really isn't any other way to explain the statistics.

There are way too many people with huge houses, etc. for there to be any other explanation. There has to be statistically relevant income involved to support those purchases.

I have no idea if the proposed expansion of the IRS would work, but as someone who already pays a ton of taxes, I rather like the idea of government going after the tax cheats instead of increasing rates on the people that are already paying too much.

I didn't vote for this, but I support it 100%. If you are aren't cheating on your taxes, this shouldn't bother you.

It doesn't take a huge amount of income to have a big house and a nice car. There are several factors at play, but I'm betting that tax fraud is not even in the top 20. In fact, the notion is kinda ludicrous.

 

[jamil]

Have you tried calling the IRS in the last couple of years?
And Congress keeps changing the tax laws at the last moment (or later).

There's two good reasons for more funding.


But yeah the tax code needs simplified, the tax return process needs simplified (send out pre-filled forms), and tax refunds aren't paydays.

There is no good reason for more funding. If they can't make it with the budget they have they're doing too much. Too bad. The IRS can suck it.

 

[jamil]

It doesn't take a huge amount of income to have a big house and a nice car. There are several factors at play, but I'm betting that tax fraud is not even in the top 20. In fact, the notion is kinda ludicrous.

I have a neighbor down the street. Trades for a new truck every 3 years. Wife trades her big SUV every three years. Nice house. Nice cars. Just built a new garage. Rebuilt their patio. Together they make less than I do by myself. I ain't living that large. They owe for everything they have. I don't think they have all that stuff because they're not paying the taxes they should.

 

[Colt]

The governments should just drastically simplify the income tax laws. From the OP's post it appears that over 50 billion a year will be spent by the federal government in taking people's and corporation's money, plus whatever the 50 state government's spend doing the same. I wonder how much more money is spent on the other side, avoiding taxes. Probably a huge factor. Simplifying the tax laws would put a lot of people out of work, but maybe they could find something productive to do for a living. I believe that if this were to happen. there would be a huge productivity increase in our nation and we would all be better off. The governments would still get their taxes, I'm sure.

I know this will never happen. Too many people have vested interests in the present system. My main (only?) disappointment with Trump was after promising to simplify the tax laws, instead he made the tax laws more complicated.

 

[phylodog]

This is far from surprising for a couple of reasons. Democrats are pretty reliable when it comes to ridiculous "solutions" to problems and Biden has demonstrated that he will reverse everything Trump did, including revealing how Obama weaponized the IRS and stopping it.

A few will get rich, nothing about dealing with the IRS will improve or simplify and us lowly peasants will reap zero benefit from this waste of money. American politics at it's finest.

 

[foszoe]

This is far from surprising for a couple of reasons. Democrats are pretty reliable when it comes to ridiculous "solutions" to problems and Biden has demonstrated that he will reverse everything Trump did, including revealing how Obama weaponized the IRS and stopping it.

A few will get rich, nothing about dealing with the IRS will improve or simplify and us lowly peasants will reap zero benefit from this waste of money. American politics at it's finest.

Let's be clear. This is a bipartisan effort agreed to by Republicans to advance the infrastructure agreement.

 

[JTScribe]

I didn't vote for this, but I support it 100%. If you are aren't cheating on your taxes, this shouldn't bother you.

If you don't think this is going to go full Beria, I don't know what to tell you.

"Show me the man and I will show you the crime."

They will dig for easy wins to justify their existence and increased budget.

 

[DadSmith]

This hasn't passed yet. It's a tie at 50/50 in the senate. So it isn't bipartisan yet. Still has to be voted on. At 50/50 I don't see bipartisanship.

 

[edporch]

-Snip-

I didn't vote for this, but I support it 100%. If you are aren't cheating on your taxes, this shouldn't bother you.

I agree with you in theory.
BUT, the IRS going after more people with more intensity is going to greatly increase the numbers of innocent people having to pay for being audited and wasting their time PROVING their innocence.

I say this because the IRS has been known to audit people they KNOW are innocent, just to frighten other people who cheat on their taxes that see this and think "if they audited him, I better watch out when I file my taxes".
I KNOW THIS because my dad was a victim of this several years ago.

Anybody who knew of my late father knew he was EXTREMELY honest and had a squeaky clean reputation in our community at the time.

He got audited 3 times in a 5 year period, and he was never found to have violated the law.

On the third audit, the IRS agent in conversation learned that my dad's brother in law was a long time CPA from another city.
"Oh, _____ is your brother in law?".
My dad DIDN'T even use my uncle as his tax man.

Suddenly upon learning this, the IRS agent immediately stopped the audit, and dad was never audited again.

THE ONLY logical reason for these audits was to use my dad as "an example" in a small town to scare the REAL tax cheats.

My dad wasted a lot of time and money on this BS.

 

[phylodog]

Let's be clear. This is a bipartisan effort agreed to by Republicans to advance the infrastructure agreement.

RHINOS

 

[actaeon277]

RHINOS

When I read that, it sounds like Jerry Seinfeld when he says "Newman" (The postal carrier)

 

[Tactically Fat]

Drive-by comment: Tax avoidance =/= tax cheating

 

[actaeon277]

When I read that, it sounds like Jerry Seinfeld when he says "Newman" (The postal carrier)