Democrats push to end private tax collections

[IChing]

Source: Reuters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. House of Representatives panel on Wednesday moved to end a treasured Republican program that allows private debt collectors to pursue tax debts owed to the U.S. government.

The House Ways and Means Committee, on a mostly party line vote of 23-18, approved a bill ending the program enacted in 2004 by the then Republican-led Congress.

Democrats, who now control Congress, and unions opposed the program, saying it was a costly way to collect tax debts that could more efficiently be collected by IRS employees.

"The collection of taxes is a core government function," said Rep. John Lewis, a Georgia Democrat. "It is the Internal Revenue Service's mission. We found that, in addition to taxpayer harassment, this program wastes tax dollars by paying a bounty up to 24 percent to the debt collectors."

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSN1835007220070718

[msongs]

1. how many of these bounty hunters donate to repubs campaigns?? thats what thats about nt

[flashl]

2. They needed these private tax collectors

Embedded in the original bill there were clauses that exempted the private collectors from lawsuits and most procedures that govern IRS collecting procedures. For years, its been widely known that the database IRS relies on for collections is irreparably broken. Privatizing collections allows the government’s private collectors to collect on tax bills whether they were valid or not without consequences.

[superconnected]

4. that's not exactly a good thing.

They should have consequences for their procedures.

[flashl]

6. Hopefully this time Congress will succeed

There are plenty of articles and reports about private collection and IRS oversight problems at http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2006/12/irs_outsourcing.html.

Reading this little jewel is when you need your 'salts' (smelling salts) to remain conscious after reading the subject. ‘IRS Proposal Would Let Tax Preparers Sell Citizen Tax Records To Third Parties’:http://www.consumerfed.org/pdfs/IRS_Privacy_Rule_Release030906.pdf

First, collections are privatized then tax records can be sold!

[superconnected]

7. Wow! Thanks for pointing that out.

That likely is what's going on here.

[19jet54]

3. Pros & Cons

... The up side is a private collector is movated by money, the down side is the lost Gov revenue we have to pay them

[ooglymoogly]

5. The upside is these contractors make a ton of money

with no oversight...the downside is we the taxpayer has to pay for this largess with a ton of oversight.