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IRS Watch (28 September 05)
While we don’t agree with some of the actions of the Agency, there is an issue that deserves more attention, and relief.
There is always a trend to put pressure on the IRS to collect taxes at a faster pace during times of budget turmoil. This has been the case for the last few years.
At the same time, audits have increased (some without basis) due to pressure on the Agency. However, one must look at staffing at the IRS. Over the past 10 years the IRS has lost thousand’s of employees.
You might say, “Good - that means I have a lesser chance to be audited.” In actuality, that may make sense, but is totally incorrect. IRS employees now have a much heavier case load, and therefore, have less time to devote to the careful review of individual’s picked for audit.
While the White House and the majority in Congress demands the Agency collect more money via audits and stricter enforcement, it MUST give the Commissioner more employees to do this.
Why? The answer is simple. When the load of cases is spread out, the Revenue Agents and Officers of the IRS can deal with the reviews more effectively. There is less pressure on the Agents and Officers to dispose of the cases quickly. And, generally, in the vast majority of cases, the taxpayer gets a fair hearing. However, with the insufficient number of Agents and Officers currently, and increased workload, the time available to devote to cases is very limited.
It is true with any business or government entity, you have some unreasonable and unhappy people who are frustrated with their job and just want to dispose of a matter by doing a sloppy job. But in the vast majority of dealings we have with the IRS, we have found their employees to be courteous and reasonable. At the same time, increasing the workload to more than what is reasonable, will make any employee frustrated.
It is imperative that Congress give the IRS additional money for EMPLOYEES, the sooner the better. Congress can start by cutting “bridges to nowhere.” And, then severely curtail foreign aid to countries that only care about how much money we give them, then thumb their noses at us behind our back.
Charity begins at home. Write your elected officials and ask them to give the IRS Commissioner more money to hire Revenue Agents and Officers. At the same time, tell Congress that they need to stop the foreign “giveaway” programs.
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