As if you didn't think that the government could exceed its heights of stupidity -- or depths, depending on how you ... nahhh, "depths" makes more sense.
Perhaps you missed a little provision tucked into the 2016 fiscal year Federal budget law just signed, that allows for Federal agencies to do robocalling in the course of collecting debts to the government. That includes, specifically, back taxes -- which means that by law, the IRS can have a sweet voice dialing your number and telling you that you owe them six or eight billion dollars and if you don't pay, they're coming to get you ... "... and you know we do that, sir or madam!"
I encourage you to do a search, using your favorite browser, on "IRS phone scam" or words to that effect. You will find dozens upon dozens of articles citing the nice people at the Internal Revenue Service themselves, warning the public that the IRS does NOT call you to collect taxes, and that people who call you are scamming the public and are not really the IRS.
Now this.
I have no sympathy for the IRS, none whatsoever. They were recently led by a political hack named John Koskinen, an embarrassment to Finnish-Americans everywhere, who has lied to a congressional committee and who was the target of an impeachment investigation before the Obama administration ended, four years too late. They audited my failed business, on which my family lost our life savings even before the audit started. The audit started right about the time the beautiful and talented Barack Obama told the American people that the IRS was hamstrung, without the funds to go after the "bad guys" in corporate America (but apparently with more than enough incompetent auditors to bleed my wife and me). It ended with the IRS owed not one cent by my wife and me, but owing $11,000 to our accountant to prove that.
When even a Democrat senator (Menendez - NJ) protested the provision that he voted for anyway, the IRS had to make a statement: "The IRS is currently reviewing the legislation," agency spokesman Anthony Burke said in a statement. "We are taking steps to begin implementation of the program as soon as feasible and will do our best to implement the new requirements as effectively as possible. To that end, we will do everything we can do to help taxpayers avoid confusion and ensure they understand their rights and tax responsibilities, particularly in light of continuing scams where callers impersonate IRS agents and request immediate payment."
Note the irony -- "We are taking steps to implement the new requirements ...". Not "We are immediately asking Congress to amend the law to remove references to collecting taxes -- or delete the provision in its entirety." No, your friends and mine at the IRS are seeking ways to comply. That's perfectly in keeping with their general lack of regard for the American citizen.
Seriously, what are you supposed to do when you get robocalled by someone claiming to be with the IRS, which formerly never called but only used the mail, and for years has been telling us that if someone does call, claiming to be IRS, they're a scam? I don't know, and neither does the IRS.
Let's take this to a logical extreme. I get robocalled to tell me they want money. In keeping with all the dozens of warnings from the IRS, I take them at their word that it's a scam, and hang up. Next thing I know, the tax police come in, take our furniture, cars and jewelry and seize what's left of our bank account. The court case takes 14 months to come to trial, while in the meantime our lack of bank account means our house is foreclosed on.
"But, Your Honor", we protest to the Tax Court judge. "We took the IRS at its word that calls claiming to be from the IRS were scams and so we hung up. Next thing you know, the Tax-Till-You-Drop Storm Troopers showed up." What does the judge do? Do you think he's going to help us get our house back? I don't either.
I would like to find out who in Congress did Obama's bidding -- you don't think it was Congress's idea, do you? -- and snuck that provision in the budget bill when no one was looking. We all should be told, especially the citizens of that dumb cluck's district. And the Trump-era Congress needs to get rid of that provision pronto.
Anyone have an idea who done it?
Copyright 2017, 2015 by Robert Sutton