WSJ: Democrats May Eliminate IRS's Use of Collection Agencies

[DeepModem Mom]

TAX REPORT
By TOM HERMAN
Democrats May Eliminate IRS's Use of Collection Agencies
November 15, 2006; Page D2

Is the IRS's new private tax-collection program heading for an early death?

After years of congressional debate, the Internal Revenue Service recently began using private debt-collection agencies to help pursue people who owe taxes. The IRS has already turned over the names of more than 13,725 taxpayers who owe the government about $73.5 million.

But the program has run into renewed congressional attacks -- and could well be eliminated -- now that Democrats are poised to take control of the House and Senate. Among the strongest critics are several influential Democrats in line to take over powerful posts next year.

"I think it's a terrible program, and I'm going to let (IRS officials) know in as many political and legislative ways as I can," says Rep. Charles Rangel, the New York Democrat expected to be the next chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee.

Additional criticism has come recently from Sen. Max Baucus, the Montana Democrat who will take over as chairman of the Senate Finance Committee. "Tax collection is an inherent government function and the IRS ought to take care of it in-house," Sen. Baucus says....

http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB116356260757223593-DXhRvajFQ2u1EzapK4MgGlCyJG0_20071115.html?mod=tff_main_tff_top

[Auggie]

1. Oh, I hope this happens...

[depakid]

2. They have the power to do this

by cutting off the funding for it.

[texpatriot2004]

3. As well they should...good for them. nm

[jpwhite]

4. collecting taxes is the job of the IRS

so, let's pay someone else to do the job of the people who we already pay to do a job. That's a genius move....
:sarcasm:




Let's get rid of this stupid plan.



James
[e-mail]

[zbdent]

5. I wonder if they're going to re-institute going after the mega-cheats

instead of the little guys who made a $2 error on their taxes ...

[justice1]

6. What 3 companies were awarded the contracts?

[Cerridwen]

13. Here ya go...

WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service today awarded contracts to three firms to participate in the first phase of its private debt collection initiative.

The firms are:

* The CBE Group Inc., Waterloo, Iowa.
* Linebarger Goggan Blair & Sampson, LLP, Austin, Texas.
* Pioneer Credit Recovery, Inc., Arcade, N.Y.


link to info

[w4rma]

7. Very good. (nt)

[THUNDER HANDS]

8. can someone explain why it's a good thing?

I mean, it's not like these private companies are taking over the job of the IRS, they're just helping them out. And tax cheats should be found out and reported. I don't see a reason why a private company can't assist the IRS if it's understaffed and can't get to everyone who owes taxes.

[struggle4progress]

10. It's (1) expensive, (2) a privacy concern, (3) a security concern, and

(4) these numbskulls "privatize" such functions to get around government oversight functions.

[unblock]

12. they use it to get around labor laws as well

they don't want to hire government workers with all those damn liberal benefits. they'd rather hire third parties who can rotate temporary workers and illegal aliens or outsource to bangalore or whatever.

[unblock]

11. "if" it's understaffed? ...

if it's understaffed but has money for private companies, then it has money to hire people.

piratization is a way to steal money that belongs to the treasury and get it in the hands of favored donors.

[kath]

16. "piratization is a way to steal money that belongs to the treasury and get it in the hands of

favored donors."

BINGO!
And replace decent jobs that have good benefits with low-paid and/or offshored ones, as you noted in your next post.

(did you mean to say "piratization" instead of "privatization"? Works for me!)

[unblock]

19. i've been calling it "piratization" for a loooong time now

i have no idea why it hasn't caught on. guess i'm just not a trend-setter.

[Morgana LaFey]

14. It will ALWAYS cost more money to privatize govt functions

because of the profit factor if nothing else. Also because no private entity is as large as govt and as capable of negotiating good contracts on supplies and services. No for-profit enterprise can do any govt job cheaper than govt can do it and any assertions to the contrary are simple lies.

So, these sorts of privatization schemes amount to little more than crony capitalism, and/or fascism if you think about the corporate/government confluence.

What about govt waste? Yes, it happens. We can minimize it if we have the political will to do so. Most of the time we don't. Even with govt waste, most govt functions are performed better by govt than private enterprise.

[Straight Shooter]

15. Considering the databases that are routinely stolen ...

... it gives me the shivering creeps to think of the IRS outsourcing every relevant bit of my personal info for stealing my identity. What a nightmare scenario.

[gulfcoastliberal]

18. It's understaffed b/c thepukes hate gov't employees and want to outsource

everything to private industry - which has proven beyond all doubt to be less efficient and more expensive than handling it in-house. Federal employees tend to vote dem- which is why the pukes hate em.

[bleedingheart]

9. next on the list should be the outsourcing of military jobs to Halliburton

...the Army ...should feed the Army...

[kath]

17. Hear, hear.

[FernBell]

Get rid of the profiteering robber barons!!!

[FernBell]

20. Get rid of the profiteering robber barons!!!

[annabanana]

21. Good. This outsourcing of the Federal Government has to stop.

We all know this crowd would "privatize" the whole shebang if they could. It's OUR government, not theirs to sell.