IRS Moving Ahead With Tax Privatization Despite Clear Congressional OppositionThe National Treasury Employees Union sharply criticized the IRS for moving ahead with a plan to turn over to private debt collectors the personal and sensitive information of some 2.6 million taxpayers despite clear and mounting congressional opposition.
According to an agency message to IRS employees, on Aug. 31, the IRS will begin turning over the first 40,000 taxpayer files to three private sector debt collection companies which will receive a bounty of up to 24 percent of the money they collect.
The agency is moving ahead despite language approved by the House of Representatives in the fiscal 2007 Transportation-Treasury Appropriations bill preventing the use of any money to implement the program.
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“The arrogance of the IRS in pushing forward with this misguided and costly program in the face of congressional efforts to halt it is beyond belief,” said NTEU President Colleen M. Kelley. “As more details are uncovered, it is increasingly apparent that this will be disastrous for taxpayers.”
Will the IRS take responsibility when they give collectors inaccurate data which is then used to harrass innocent people? Like you don’t already know the answer to that:
When concerned taxpayers call the IRS, agency employees—in the message from IRS management—have been informed to limit their response to taxpayer questions to merely confirming that their accounts have been turned over to a private collector. The caller is then to be told to take up additional questions or concerns with the private debt collector
Yes, but isn’t it better to have a company that wont take your house doing collection instead of the big bad wolf?
These nazi’s will flagrantly ignore fair credit collection laws and what do you think will happen when people complain? One more goose step on America’s break neck march to a police state.
yep.
How long before the implant to buy or sell? Anyone want to guess?
While I’m generally for the privatization of many government services I think this one is a little over the top.
While #2 thinks they will ignore fair credit collection laws I think the problem is more the reverse. The IRS isn’t subject to those laws and the private collectors are.
The IRS has lots of collection methods that aren’t available to private companies and should use them. Not hand over a quarter of the amount owed to someone who doesn’t have the collection muscle the IRS does.
Not that I like paying taxes but since I do pay them I’d like those that don’t to pay thier’s as well.
And to Uncle Dave… How is it any worse for them to turn over incorrect info to others as opposed to acting on the same info themselves?
I can easily foresee a taxpayer being bounced back and forth like a ping-pong ball between the IRS and a private contractor over a tax dispute. Yet another government bureaucracy seeking to abdicate responsibility.
The 24% bounty is actually rather slim compared to what these photo radar contractors get. Some private photo radar contractors receive as much as 70% of the traffic fines levied. We voted photo radar out of existence in Anchorage several years ago because of this problem.
I knew a self employed truck driver that didn’t pay income taxes the last 20 years of his life, and bragged about it. He’s been dead 6 years, so he’s beyond prosecution. I do wonder how many guys like him are out there, and how did he get away with it so long?
Anyone comes around here to work on my knee caps needs to understand that we know how to do that knee cap thing, too.
Great. Will private debt collectors also have the power to threaten people with criminal prosecution and jail time? They already do that anyway, but this just gives them more incentive to do it even more.
The IRS didn’t come up with this process…
When concerned taxpayers call the IRS, agency employees—in the message from IRS management—have been informed to limit their response to taxpayer questions to merely confirming that their accounts have been turned over to a private collector. The caller is then to be told to take up additional questions or concerns with the private debt collector
That came from the collection industry. Over a decade ago while applying for a mortgage, I had a such an incident appear on my credit report due to a “bad” debt on an old medical bill. The only thing the collectors did was to post the negative item on my credit report. SInce several years had passed, the insurance company had been merged several times, and the hospital no longer would talk to me instead referring all questions to the collectors, I had little choice but to pay up.
This may turn out worse for some than dealing with the IRS. At least with them, you can appeal and get details. Instead with this arrangement, both accusers will point at the other as being the only ones to know the details of how the amount was calculated…
Debt Collection companies are controlled by Seven Federal Laws!
That control abusive conduct and privacy. Unless you want to go to a completely cash and carry life, credit is necessary. And Collection Agencies save the average hundreds of dollars a year in lower prices for credit goods.
If someone has a problem with a Collection Agency it is not that difficult to find out the law and complain to the appriate Government Agency or Lawyer.
People who do not pay their bills raise everyone else’s bills. However their are instances where people get overburded and their is usually a way of getting out of the situation. But it usually requires being mature and facing the issues head on and not ingnoring them
The IRS should be run out of town on a rail (and that’s being nice about it)