I.R.S. to Cut Tax Auditors

[Danmack]

"The federal government is moving to eliminate the jobs of nearly half of the lawyers at the Internal Revenue Service who audit tax returns of some of the wealthiest Americans, specifically those who are subject to gift and estate taxes when they transfer parts of their fortunes to their children and others."

" Sharyn Phillips, a veteran I.R.S. estate tax lawyer in Manhattan, called the cuts a “back-door way for the Bush administration to achieve what it cannot get from Congress, which is repeal of the estate tax."

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/23/business/23tax.html?hp&ex=1153627200&en=20c19e0a3c8df21c&ei=5094&partner=homepage

Un-Fuking believable...

[TheFarseer]

1. OMG

that is even worse than changing the law. Now they are just going to ignore the law, but most people who can't afford high powered lawyers will still follow it. They talk about judicial activism, but this is executive activism.

[bluerum]

2. Another form of sneering cynically at the non-rich.

[napi21]

3. I'm not sure my brain can take another 2+ years of this idiot!

Just when I got a glimmer of hope last week when they said the IRS had issued warning letters to all Churches and Charities about losing their tax exempt status, now I read THIS!

[havocmom]

4. WWIII is on: Ultra Rich v the world

They intend to bring about the New Feudal System

[Lars39]

5. K&R

:grr:

[Danmack]

6. Standard practice for these guys...

If you don't like a law.. write a signing statment saying you ain't going to follow it.

If you can't get your law passed.. fire the people who are needed to enforce the old one.

If you don't want daddy's secrets to come out.. make an excutive order sealing em for another 20 years.

If there is not the evidence you need to make war.. make up the evidence.

and on and on.

Going to take a long time to unfuk everything they have put their mark on

[Totallybushed]

7. Another stupid move

by a stupid administration.

Just out of curiosity, does anyone know if the IRS is conducting random audits anymore. I know they ceased them for a while, then had at least one year of them to update their algorithms.

Seems to me like, except for occassionally checking to see what reasnble deductions are, random audit are a waste of time, taking in very little money.

Anyone know?

[david_vincent]

8. Not too long ago there were news reports

that the "random" audits were being shifted to target more frequently people in the lower and middle classes. I remember reading it in the paper, probably less than a year ago. Anyone else remember it?

[harpboy_ak]

12. they started auditing poor folks instead

the repukes shifted the irs several years ago into harassing poor working folks who claimed the earned income tax credit. i understand they usually targeted those whose returns weren't done by preparers that guarantee that they will pay for any errors.

[zann725]

9. They're cutting IRS auditors 'cause they plan privitization of collection?

Meaning there will no doubt be an increase of harassment of those audited among the poorest...who can least afford representation, and don't understand their tax rights. While the Richey-Richest who are now LEGALLY exempt from most taxation (courtesy of Chimpy)...won't have a tax care in the world. To them, it'll now be, "I.R....what?"

[fooj]

10. Great Gatsby...

he wound up dead, didn't he?

[badgervan]

11. NO

This is just absolutely unacceptable. I'll be calling every one of my legislators first thing Monday. These bastards have to be stopped NOW. Enough of this pro-rich crap.

[AzDar]

13. Typical and infuriating. n/t

[niallmac]

14. The chic shall inherit the earth.

[The Backlash Cometh]

15. State sanctioned crime that benefits mostly white Americans.

So, so sick of being surrounded by so many white (mostly Republican) crooked people, who won't hesitate to tell you that blacks and hispanics are criminally oriented. Yet, there they are changing the rules that would prove that they are far, far worse.

[lovuian]

16. He is crippling the government

Awful Awful Awful...

[OKNancy]

17. Kick

[krispos42]

18. Report: IRS to cut audits on wealthiest

From United Press International:

Report: IRS to cut audits on wealthiest
WASHINGTON, July 23 (UPI) -- The Bush administration plans to cut nearly in half the number of auditors who review tax returns of some of the wealthiest U.S. taxpayers.

Plans call for eliminating 157 of the Internal Revenue Service's 345 estate tax lawyers, The New York Times reported. The cuts will affect audits of taxpayers who are subject to gift and estate taxes when they transfer assets to their children and others, the newspaper said.

IRS Deputy Commissioner Kevin Brown told the Times he ordered the staff cuts because the number of Americans who are subject to the estate tax has fallen under the Bush administration.

However, six IRS estate tax lawyers whose jobs are at risk told the newspaper the cuts are part of a behind-the-scenes move at the IRS to shield people with political connections and complex tax-avoidance devices from thorough audits.
<more>

http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/view.php?StoryID=20060723-015933-5085r

God, will it ever end? The richest 0.27% who die every year pay the damn estate tax. :nopity: They've already had their income taxes slashed, and now we're simply not going to check to make sure their heirs are paying it?

:nopity:

[NVMojo]

19. They are all crooks and liars ....

[catmother]

20. and the rich get richer.

[lpbk2713]

21. Now who says Dumbya is unresponsive?

His friends complain and Dumbya listens. It was probably done in honor of Ken Lay's memory. :eyes:

[yorkiemommie1]

22. the schemes they come up with are simply amazing

such blatant arrogance is beyond belief!

[intheflow]

23. Riiiight. Ken Lay would never cheat the IRS.

Neither would any other rich people. :puke:

[MarinCoUSA]

24. And so the Class War continues. The Very Rich 137, The Restaus 3

- seen it from the inside and outside and it ain't pretty.

[jmellman]

28. ... and Nero continues to Play

and where is the outrage at this? Where is the public saying enough? What I hate most about the Republican view of government is that it is just a tool -- not for the public good -- but for gaining financial advantage. Shoot, at least we should see the estate tax union screaming about this.

One more point: just because there are .27% of estates paying tax, doesn't mean they are paying that much. The fact is that it is the super super rich that are behind this movement to eliminate this tax. It's class warfare at its worst.

[krispos42]

33. 18 families want it

You know, common everyday working-class joes like me want this darn death tax eliminated. Why, just yesterday, before I went my night-shift factory job, the Hiltons, the Waltons, the Mars' (from M&M/Mars), the Gates, and the DuPonts met me for lunch at White Castle to talk about this!

News of the Weird published a condensed version of the story a couple of weeks ago. Hopefully the word is getting out.

http://www.newsoftheweird.com/archive/nw060702.html

Chutzpah!
As Congress debates whether to retain the federal estate tax, two advocacy groups released evidence in April that 18 super-rich families (including the owners of Wal-Mart, Gallo wine, Campbell's soup and the Mars candy company) spent as much as $500 million in the last 10 years through industry and trade associations to urge abolition of the tax, and if their campaign is successful, the families will have saved themselves an estimated $71 billion in taxes, a return of 142 times the investment. (Polls show that around 70 percent of Americans favor abolition, even though only one taxpayer in 400 owes any tax.)

<corrected grammer, fixed wrong number>

[ninkasi]

25. They don't even try to come up with a plausible

explanation for pampering the rich and screwing the rest of us, do they? They must have decided that nobody on our side is going to get serious about fighting them. I hope they're wrong. God forbid people of importance like Paris Hilton should ever have to worry about where their next 100 million is coming from. The difference in tax revenues will come from tired, frazzled waitresses, who are tired of having sore feet and aching backs, yard maintenance people, working in the relentless heat, or anybody else who works for either minimum wage jobs, or something close to it. They disgust me.

[Blue_Tires]

41. us poor folks don't scratch out huge checks for re-election races

nt

[krispos42]

26. Desperate?

It's almost like they know they only have a couple of weeks left in congressional sessions to screw the working people and that after that, it will be a Democratic legislature. As a result, they are trying very hard to finish the screwing before the law shows up.

[ShockediSay]

27. Seems like there's the working people, and the people who work to screw

the working people, where the rewards are enormous.

Is this the kind of country the majority wants?

[madrchsod]

29. the rich do not pay estate taxes

they pay lawyers to figure out how not to pay taxes...lets say you have 50 million and 5 kids now you take out life insurance payable to them when you die..yup no taxes on insurance policies. take e 25 million and purchase the policies and half your estate is tax free..oh and then there`s the little woman and her share that won`t be taxed cause that money can also tied up in insuarnce. that just one trick of the trade and there is a lot more...

[krispos42]

30. Gee, sounds complicated

Good thing the IRS has plenty of expienced estate tax auditors to keep these people hon...

Oh.

lmao

[me b zola]

31. The veil doesn't even exist any longer

Only people who choose not to see.

[brentspeak]

32. Can impeachment hearings start as early as this week?

Because I'd really like to commence the criminal probe of Bush and his administration as soon as possible. The most blatantly corrupt president of all time deserves no less.

[Erika]

34. W instituting the caste system in the U.S.

The rich are clean, all others are less.

[krispos42]

35. The Wisdom of Thom Hartmann

He was talking about this a few weeks ago while subbing on Air America. Said the estate tax had two purposes. 1) to prevent the creation of an idle aristocracy class, and 2) to simplify the transfer of wealth. Apparently otherwise inhierentences would be subject to the capitol gains tax and depreciation and more complex stuff like that. Not sure about #2, but #1 is good enough for me!

There are aspects of Europe to be admired. A bloated aristocracy is not one of them!

[lovuian]

36. This will help make the deficit lower!!!

or shall I say Higher but thats OK cause after Bush is office there is such thing as BACK TAXES...

So whose kidding who???
:rofl:

[judaspriestess]

37. If you have a home based business or a business of some kind

INCORPORATE yourself.

the IRS does not audit corporations as much, they are the bottom of the totem pole. They audit middle America Sole-Proprietors. That is their #1 target.

When you are inc.'d you get to write off up to 500 deductions at 100%!!

You only pay taxes on your net, not your gross, its a beautiful thing.

[The Backlash Cometh]

38. Does anybody have any doubt that the Administration is doing this

to protect their donors? Like the stem cell veto for the conservatives, he's finding 101 ways to reward his base.

[Blue_Tires]

39. k+r

[Blue_Tires]

40. and add that to the

already massive book of tricks, loopholes, and offshore accounts that the rich have already been using to pay next to nothing of their share

[Faux pas]

42. Just another example of 'the rich man does the dancing and the

poor man pays the band'.

[WCGreen]

43. They are planning to nap down hard on the EArned Income Credit...

THey despise this little morsal of help that not only subsidizes the people at the lowest level of the income but it also gives a boost to people hiring those at the lowest end of the income levels....

[MadHound]

44. Another example of the US government strangling the poor and middle class

Given the fact that fifty experienced accountants can fill out the exact same set of taxes, and come up with fifty different answers, it seems to me that this is going to be used to bleed the poor and middle class dry. More audits, more taxes, more fines, liens and levies. Meanwhile the rich will be able to skate, and the budget will be balanced on the backs of those least able to afford it, the poor and middle class.