Who’s afraid of the taxman? Apparently, some of the vendors of IRS are not afraid of the nation’s taxman. A recent audit found that the IRS was owed about $589 million by 1,168 IRS vendors as of July 2012.
When the nation’s tax collector cannot even collect taxes that are owed by its own vendors, can their be any reason to believe that the very same agency will be able to collect ObamaCare penalties.
“When the IRS conducts business with vendors that do not comply with federal tax laws, it conveys a contradictory message in relation to its mission to ensure compliance with the tax laws,” said J. Russell George, Treasury inspector general for tax administration.
According to the taxman, they check a vendor’s tax status when they award a contract but they don’t check their tax status continuously. George has recommended the IRS require an annual tax check for all contractors, but the agency says federal acquisition regulations don’t authorize them.
Defenders of the service claim that they don’t have a choice with who they do business with. The IRS must routinely pay fees to banks and other financial institutions when it orders them to turn over records about taxpayers, the report said.
The agency also has to pay filing fees to state and county governments to file tax liens. “Thus, even if these entities have unpaid tax debt, the IRS must still use their services,” the report said. The IRS said 863 of the delinquent vendors provided these types of services to the agency.
The IRS is allowed to withhold government payments to individuals and businesses that owe back taxes. However, the tax agency has only done this in a limited number of cases.
The whole sordid episode points out the double standard practiced by the IRS. If you were an organization that criticized Obama in any way then your tax exempt status may have been held up through two election cycles.
If you were a public figure then more than likely you were allowed to settle up with a minimum of public exposure. But if you were just an ordinary citizen then expect the hard hand of the IRS that pound you into paste.
Oh, and by the way, this agency has been tasked to enforce the purchase of health insurance under ObamaCare. Fat chance that they’ll be able to do a credible job chasing down health care scofflaws.
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