45 thoughts on “Opportunity to draw public attention to #IRS #OVDP penalty abuse”

1. @DoubleDutch

   Well, we have all learned some valuable lessons from this fiasco, that is for sure, and for that privilege some have paid more than others for the ‘teaching moment’. Now, from the looks of that Market watch report posted by @Anon, those that were late to the FBAR problem probably benefit from our learning and audit fall off now. Who said taxation and penalties are fair? 🙂

2. Good ole Stephen Colbert and his take on the IRS scandal…and 501(c) (4)

   Part 1
   http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/426444/may-20-2013/mazda-scandal-booth—the-irs

   Part 2. This is especially good, as Tevor Potter of Caplin and Drysdale (a law firm Brockers should recognize) has some very interesting comments on 501 (c)(4) s

   http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/426445/may-20-2013/mazda-scandal-booth—the-irs—trevor-potter

3. Thanks for compiling this list of twitter accounts, it has made it much easier for me to tweet each Representative as they ask questions in the testimony today. The grilling of Shulman has been worth my penalties. 🙂

4. The TIGTA report http://www.treasury.gov/tigta/auditreports/2013reports/201310053fr.pdf ‘Inappropriate Criteria Were Used to
   Identify Tax-Exempt Applications for Review’
   May 14, 2013
   Reference Number: 2013-10-053

   See page 6 “…………The mission of the IRS is to provide America’s
   taxpayers top quality service by helping them understand and meet their tax responsibilities and by applying the tax law with integrity and fairness to all. According to IRS Policy Statement 1-1, IRS employees accomplish this mission by being impartial and handling tax matters in
   a manner that will promote public confidence. ..”

   How many of those born and/or living outside the US would agree that the IRS is in any way even theoretically interested in the above statement as cited in the TIGTA report? How many believe that TIGTA would ever be interested in that statement as applied to those of us ‘abroad’?

   We’re forcibly made into ‘US taxable persons’ merely on the flimsy basis of a long ago US birthplace or parentage though we live and earn and save entirely divorced from the US. Yet, Teaparty group ‘taxpayers’ are able to have their voices heard and their issues investigated by TIGTA – and the hearings broadcast for all to see. That will never happen on our behalf – no matter how many reports the Taxpayer Advocate produces flagging the issues burdening ‘taxpayers abroad’.

   And Shulman ‘regrets’ the targeting of the Teaparty applications http://www.accountingtoday.com/news/Shulman-Regrets-Tea-Party-Targeting-66819-1.html But we’ll never hear him acknowledge or regret anything done to those ‘taxpayers’ ‘abroad’ who receive nothing, and should owe the US nothing.

5. Badger… You should be watching… http://www.c-span.org/Live-Video/C-SPAN3/
   He is weaseling out of any responsibility…

6. and watching his facial expression is revealing… He is glaring a lot, and can’t seem to hear the questions.

7. badger, you’ve hit the nail on the head. There surely should be transfer on the relevance of this week’s IRS hearings to the US taxpayer abroad situation. Hopefully some of the congressmen will be able to see this.

   Wyoming Congressperson Cynthis Lummis:

   Trust is gone — trust is destroyed — the people think the IRS has turned against them — Goliath against David — we don’t like your brand of patriotism.

   Congress created this. We have to address this issue.

8. Issa just recessed the hearing but did not adjourned it. That means, more to come… Louis Lerner will/may be called back, as the opening comment may have waived her 5th amendment rights. The IRS can not be happy.

   Shulman did not come off well. The entire hearing will be posted shortly online at Cspan for those of you that want to watch it.

9. That is Lois Lerner

10. @Just Me,
    Shulman takes no responsibility for what happened on his watch.

    Was Shulman willful? And if he wasn’t willful, did he have ‘reasonable cause’ not to know – or was it ‘willful ignorance’? Did he act ‘timely’? Co-operate? What did he know and when did he know it?

    What about Geithner? Is there a Treasury responsibility too? Read this;
    http://www.pacbiztimes.com/2013/05/17/editorial-geithner-gets-our-vote-for-worst-treasury-secretary/
    http://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/politics/item/15446-the-irs-scandal-will-it-sink-obama
    http://www.chrissstreetandcompany.com/2013/05/timothy-geithner-key-irs-scandal/
    http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2013/05/timothy-geithner-is-key-to-irs-scandal.html

    Will the IRS personnel be able to use the Fifth? And what about their records and recordkeeping? Hope they aren’t able to get away with saying ‘I didn’t know’ and ‘I don’t remember’.

    If that isn’t judged sufficient ‘reasonable cause’ for taxpayers who owe nothing but are confronted by the IRS, why should the IRS be able to proffer those excuses to the public?

    Is there a voluntary disclosure program they can languish in at great personal and monetary cost? Remember, the IRS doesn’t like ‘quiet disclosures’ or ‘compliance going forward’. Shulman, Geithner et al must disclose all of the past and beg for mercy – just like all of us ‘abroad’ – whether there is guilt or not.

11. Thanks for the questions put into analogy, badger.

    To All:

    Here’s a good summary of today’s hearing: Here are the 7 Most Explosive & Informative Moments from Today’s (May 22, 2013) IRS Hearing

12. @calgary411
    Thanks for that. I have almost started to watch it all again…
    It was so much fun watching Shulman squirm. Sure has a problem hearing the questions and remembering, doesn’t he. Was that willful deafness?

13. Per the earlier comment on this, http://isaacbrocksociety.ca/2013/05/20/opportunity-to-draw-public-attention-to-irs-ovdp-penalty-abuse/comment-page-2/#comment-351797, I would actually like badger to ‘cross-examine’ Mr. Shulman, Just Me. I do believe I saw willful deafness (and perceived entitlement of his position). I loved the Easter Egg Roll answer as an example of one of the reasons for his many visits to the White House.

14. @Calgary…
    I would love to have the badger have a go at him… 🙂

15. Best moments from Politico:
    http://www.politico.com/story/2013/05/irs-scandal-hearing-best-moments-91765.html

16. I demand that we badger the witness 😉

17. @calgary, Just Me, and bubblebustin.
    With help from IBS friends.

    : )

18. More on ‘exclusively v primarily’ here. A light apparently went on for a few members of the hearing yesterday when it was discussed how the IRS under the Eisenhower administration changed the law allowing some political organizations to gain tax exempt status. Maybe it should be Dana Latham, the IRS Commissioner in 1959 who should be testifying here today, not these buffoons who are adhering to the status quo.

    http://www.nbcnews.com/id/45755883/ns/msnbc-the_last_word/vp/51910764#51973198

19. Apparently Dana Lathan is long dead, but the LA County Bar Association gives out an award in his memory. Perhaps he would be better remembered as the Commission of the IRS when it went rogue.

    http://www.lacba.org/showpage.cfm?pageid=308

20. @bubblebustin

    Lawerence O’Donnell had influence on this issue, and it sure did show up in those hearings. I just commented over here at Accounting today, about “The Regulators” and their influence on creating these messes…

    Shulman ‘Regrets’ Tea Party Targeting

    I watched the entire hearing yesterday, and Shulman did not come off well at all, IMHO. Especially with his refusal to take any responsibility, and heaven knows that is what true leaders do.

    The comment from Rep Duckworth to Shulman was the best measured retort:

    “You can delegate authority, but you cannot delegate Responsibility.”

    http://www.c-spanvideo.org/clip/4452818

    Frankly none of these groups, left or right should have tax exempt status, if I had my way.

    It doesn’t look like that was the original intent of Congress either, but the change of Statute language from ‘exclusive’ social welfare activities to regulatory IRS guidance of ‘primarily’ was telling to me.

    The 4th Division of modern government is not really dealt with in the Constitution. “The Regulators” are the ones that often create many of our problems like this one. (I am not letting Congress off the hook with their constant changing and adding to tax code complexity).

    This is what Treasury is doing now with the FATCA IGAs reciprocity issue blowing back on the homeland. That was never in the original Statute intent,(to the degree these fools even knew what they were voting for) but the Technocrats usurp power and take it onto themselves to decide how to administer FATCA.

    But that is just one recent example. Watch how the IRS will administer ObamaCare with those 1600 new agent enforcers. There will be impacts not intended there either.

    That is the regulatory game and handing off to the Technocrats the interpretation of Statues has consequences! Bad ones, in my opinion, but my opinion doesn’t matter. It might take years to raise its ugly head, like it did with these hearings on administration of Tax exemption, but it will and ‘Trust’ will continue to erode.