Private Debt Collection of Federal Taxes: House Passes HR 3056

[bridgit]

'The House passed its bill today (Oct. 10, 2007) to end private debt collection for federal taxes, in a bipartisan vote of 232 to 173, in spite of a White House veto threat.

Senate Republican leader Chuck Grassley has expressed his opposition to ending privatization of debt collection and declared it "dead in the water" as far as the Senate is concerned, where the Democrats have a majority of only one vote.

Grassley's views haven't deterred Senate leaders who think it is silly to keep paying more to private bill collectors than it would cost to do the same job with government employees, especially when the private bill collectors cannot be held accountable as easily for abuses in the debt collection process, which have already been reported for this short-lived program. Byron Dorgan, Democratic Senator, stated that "here is ample evidence that private debt collectors cost more and collect less than professional IRS employees do, and often engage in abusive practices.” Some of that evidence was provided in today's BNA report on the vote:'

http://ataxingmatter.blogs.com/tax/2007/10/private-debt-co.html

[GeminiProgressive]

1. what a scam

the collecors are probably all GOP friends who are being overpaid onthe gov. money and they probably let their GOP pigs at the trough off easy on taxes. GOD I HATE PRIVATIZATION.

[derby378]

2. Hell, our local tollway authority is outsourcing debt collection, too

If you don't pay your outstanding fees for using the tollway, they will either turn your debt over to a bill collector or to the cops for actual fines (their choice).

[AX10]

3. k/r

How do we overcome the threat of a Presidential Veto? I know, we should support the Democratic nominee for the Presidency next year! :dem:

[eppur_se_muova]

4. Good news for a change. nt

[msongs]

5. hire BLACKWATER to collect the debts - they will get drunk and shoot non-payers nt

[bridgit]

6. ouch! "Mommy! That bad man shot my Teddy Bear to pieces!!"

:cry:

[Blackhatjack]

7. What the IRS will not admit about the taxes it is alleged that are owed....

The figure the IRS touts as 'uncollected taxes' are NOT ACTUALLY TAXES AT ALL. A major portion of that figure is PENALTIES, AND INTEREST, AND INTEREST ON THE PENALTIES, which is ASSESSED RETROACTIVELY by the IRS according to their records.

Many people who legitimately owe 'unpaid taxes' would in fact pay those taxes IF the amounts had not been seriously inflated by the penalties, interest and interest on the penalties, which continue to accrue on a daily basis.

As far as individual taxpayers are concerned, if the IRS were to cut the total amount owed by 24%(which is the amount the private debt collectors are being paid), there would be a huge amount of taxes collected BY THE IRS. But the IRS knows that individuals are not able to hire legal counsel to defend themselves, and they are far less likely to roll back any amount of penalties and interest assessed.

As far as business/corporate taxpayers are concerned, they are better able to hire legal counsel and defend themselves, which usually ends up with penalties and interest eliminated or rolled back in reaching an agreement with the IRS.

Hiring private debt collectors is just another way of 'targeting' individual taxpayers.

The real money that could be collected is in business/corporate tax cases. And private debt collectors are not going to spend the time and money to go after them in court.

[jimshoes]

8. Our government is getting pretty good at

demanding shit from its citizens, perhaps we should start demanding some stuff from OUR government.

[bridgit]

9. most agreed...

[flashl]

10. IRS give businesses relief

Agents Say Fast Audits Hurt IRS

Top officials at the Internal Revenue Service are pushing agents to prematurely close audits of big companies with agreements to have them pay only a fraction of the additional taxes that could be collected, The New York Times reported Friday citing dozens of IRS employees who say that the policy is costing the government billions of dollars a year.

“It’s catch and release,” said Douglas R. Johnson, an IRS auditor in Colorado for three decades who told the paper he grew so frustrated at how large corporations were allowed to pay far less than what he thought they owed that he transferred to the agency’s small-business division.

With one exception, other working agents would talk about the issue to the paper only on condition they not be identified because they feared being fired. They told the paper that a policy intended to avoid delays in auditing corporations was being pushed so rigidly that it prevented them from pursuing numerous examples of questionable corporate tax deductions.

[Blackhatjack]

11. Many of us know the truth, but there is no one who will listen in Washington DC....

Years ago I tried to get the attention of the Joint Committee on Taxation. A total waste of time. IMHO there is plenty of corruption 'inside' the IRS that is being ignored/covered up.

The entire IRS needs to be completely overhauled, all the top staff officials fired, all the infrastructure of tax records completely updated.

IF we did that, instituted some sane IRS policies, you would be amazed at the amount of legitimate tax revenue that would be collected.

As it is now, the IRS operates on the principle of 'fear.' THey are worried people will just stop paying in their taxes voluntarily, and the only way to keep the plates spinning is to keep the average family scared of them.