There is a story out tonight on Yahoo News and other sources that ACA (American Citizens Abroad) has just sent a letter to Commissioner Shulman about his refusal to respond formally to Nina Olson’s TAD.
https://twitter.com/#!/FBAR_Compliant/status/178080469689176064
American Citizens Abroad (ACA) has written to Commissioner Doug Shulman of the IRS to express the organization’s profound concern that he has not answered the Directive issued by National Taxpayer Advocate Nina Olson. In her report to Congress issued on December 31st, 2011, Ms Olson raised concerns about certain IRS practices, including the way Americans living overseas were treated by IRS examiners under the 2009 offshore voluntary disclosure program (OVDP).Commissioner Shulman had until the end of January 2012 to answer Olson’s Directive, but has chosen not to. ACA’s letter calls upon Commissioner Shulman to answer these concerns promptly, as is his statutory duty. In the letter, ACA also asks how many of the reported 33,000 taxpayers who came forward under the OVDP have overseas addresses and how much of the US$ 4.4 billion collected under the program comes from FBAR fines instead of back taxes.
Long link to letter here.
http://news.yahoo.com/concerned-organization-americans-abroad-writes-irs-unfair-irs-090228639.html
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Here is an article posted at Jack’s blog. It may have been posted somewhere here before but it really drives the point home. Some of the comments are spot on.
http://www.thelocal.se/39522/20120306/
Disgusting, but to be expected. It should be legally required for him to respond, even if we all know how he would.
I imagine that he’s too busy preparing his taxes to take the moment to respond…Oh wait, that’s right, he uses a preparer 🙂
@anon123.
That Swedish article you reference has also been posted here with comments for your reference…
http://isaacbrocksociety.com/2012/03/06/americans-in-sweden-suffer-u-s-tax-crackdown/
@don I wouldn’t trust smiley with my horse, my gun, and certainly not with the welfare of my household.
All Americans Living Abroad should be member of ACA (American Citizens Abroad). They are doing a great job!
Does IRS need to obey the US laws or is above all the laws? May be Obama gave IRS blanket pardon to conduct jihad against dual citizens living abroad?
Hornung-Soukup of ACA added, “We also asked Commissioner Shulman, again, two questions which have already been raised in Freedom of Information Act letters sent to the IRS, but which have not been answered. These questions are, how many of the 33,000 taxpayers who came forward in the OVDP live outside of the United States, and how much of the USD$ 4.4 billion that was collected under this program comes from fines, and not back taxes?”
Ref: http://www.virtual-strategy.com/2012/03/09/concerned-organization-americans-abroad-writes-irs-about-unfair-irs-treatment-americans-o
Usually time limit is 20 days, but can be extended by another 10 days to any request under FOIA. I am wondering if IRS is exempt from or above FOIA (Freedom of Information Act)?
What criminal statutes in our home countries can we use to swear our warrants for this criminal’s arrest?
Good followup story from Accounting today…
Expats Protest IRS Treatment of Citizens Overseas
http://www.accountingtoday.com/news/Expats-Protest-IRS-Treatment-Citizens-Overseas-61998-1.html
http://www.govexec.com/management/2012/04/irs-commissioner-wont-stay-second-term/41693/?oref=river
“IRS commissioner won’t stay for second term”
Aside from this nugget, the rest of the piece quoted above is pure puff, spin and tired rhetoric. Reading it is a complete waste of time, unless you like having your outrageometer pegged at eleven. Save yourself the effort.
They should make Nina Olson the IRS Commissioner so she can clean up his mess.
@omg: What a fabulous idea. Nina Olson would be perfect as IRS Commissioner. That’s why it won’t happen.
I wonder if Jim Flaherty is communicating with Nina Olson. I read in a Business Week article dated today that even sovereign nations have sought the help of the Taxpayer Advocate Service.
The People vs. the IRS
Here’s a profile of Nina Olson. The more I learn about her, the more I think she would make a superb Commissioner. http://www.brynmawr.edu/alumnae/bulletin/olson.htm
@ Blaze… Good riddance Shulman. Great idea about Nina. He will soon have a high paying attorney job advising the very clients he has been making life miserable for.