Article from For Liberty by Norm Leahy.
The Internal Revenue Service is getting back to work, tackling a backlog unfinished business – including sending out millions of notices to taxpayers.
Turns out a lot of those notices are wrong – and that’s causing taxpayers, and the IRS a lot of problems.
According to the Taxpayers Advocate’s office:
During the shutdown, the IRS generated more than 20 million notices; however, these notices were not mailed. As a result, the notices bear dates that now have passed, some by several months, and some of the notices require taxpayers to respond by deadlines that also have passed.
What are you supposed to do if you got one of these outdated notices in the mail?
The IRS is providing additional time to respond before interest or penalties apply. To explain the extended response deadlines, the IRS is including in its mailings “inserts” such as Notice 1052-A, entitled “Important! You have More Time to make Your Payment.” But even with these inserts, we anticipate confusion for taxpayers. The challenge will be to review the entire package and reference the insert to determine the revised due date before stressing out.
“Before stressing out.” That’s helpful (?) advice from an agency that isn’t exactly known for easing people’s minds.
The Taxpayer Advocate’s office says it is working with the IRS to “develop insert language that will clarify the new deadlines,” but expects there will be plenty of confusion not just for taxpayers, but tax accountants, too.
The Advocate says it’s “bottom line” is for taxpayers to “Look for and Read the Insert for Applicable Due Dates.”
Image Credit: By Joshua Doubek (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
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It is past time to do away with the IRS as we know it and the tax code. A new tax system needs to be established that is consumption based. That is, a national sales tax just like most if not states have in place. That way everyone will pay their FAIR SHARE of tax based on their consumption. That will allow them to control the amount they pay. The more they spend the more they pay in taxes. Let’s do this thing!! Just think of all the $$ THAT WILL BE IN YOUR PAY CHECK IF THEIR WAS NO FED WH TAX TAKEN OUR. Free yourself of those dread IRS notices.
It’s an excellent idea. I also favor a LOW flat tax. However, your idea would encourage both saving and investing in American businesses
We need to have the States call for an Article V Convention to repeal the 16th Amendment along with the FED and the 17th Amendment to give State back representation in Congress. Congress has the courage or integrity to do so.
I say this all the time and people jump all over me when I say it. I think it’s the only way to go. It also makes everyone contribute something. Also, people will take more interest in how our government spends and wastes our tax dollars when they have some skin in the game and just imagine how much we could slice off the IRS budget with a national sales tax. It could be based on the annual COL index. If the COL goes up by a certain percent, the tax could be raised by that same percent; conversely, if the COL goes down by a certain percent, taxes would have to be lowered by that same percent.
IRS can not force everyone to follow their rules. They require voluntary compliance. Those two words are inserted into every book the IRS has. Of course, they will find some guy who you know and love with lots of money and destroy him financially just to scare you into voluntary compliance. Lately with Obama they used the IRS as a political weapon and to punish people and organizations they did not agree with. When I worked for them, IRS employees were forbidden from having ANY political stickers on their vehicles and never discuss politics with anyone because they wanted to be non political. Now every government department is being used to punish the enemies of those who are in power. Two rules to remember. Never volunteer information. If you cheat, never tell anyone, especailly your spouse. Keep good records but do like the big corporations do. One set of books for yourself and one for the IRS. Have documents to prove each.
Here is an IDEA: Dump the IRS, and then in it’s place, install a system that is a “CONSUMABLES tax. I mean, If you consume “ANYTHING, i.e. food, gas, a car, heat etc Tax these at a rate of 7-12% Depending upon the rate of consumption, the tax rate goes up or down. ALL consumables are taxed! ALL PSAY this tax, no matter how rich or poor or even homeless! IF you consume you pay! (The Dwelling place, your house, would not be considered a consumable) Then there is NO IRS, NO Income taxes to pay or file, ONLY payment each and every time! That means we have 100% of tax payers and citizens who do pay, PAYING! That also means there is NO unfair burden on the rich or the freebe’s for the poor! EVERYONE PAYS and makes the BURDEN of taxes, less for all concerned! There would still be the DMV and License fees etc BUT the tax BURDEN would be spread out over many more millions and therefore way LESS! But, don’t fret, the ITRS, could resort to doing the new system and collect that “Consumable” and run the new system! THIS would work, but when does common sense mean anything? P.S. Even the not so legal (illegals) would also have to pay!