IRS sics debt collectors on taxpayers


Tax farming by any other name still threatens freedom
Ah yes.

Never mind if the law is right or not, we need to milk the taxpayers more. And by the way, someone may try to scam you.

The IRS warned taxpayers Wednesday not to be duped by scammers posing as private debt collectors the agency has hired to chase unpaid tax debts.

The Internal Revenue Service designed the debt collection program to minimize that risk "because we know what it's like out there with regard to identity theft nowadays," said Brady Bennett, IRS director of collection.

But some critics of the program see so many pitfalls that they're urging debtors to insist on negotiating payment directly with the IRS.

The National Treasury Employees Union, which represents IRS employees and opposes the program, has even drafted a sample letter that taxpayers can send to opt out of the private collection program and demand that the IRS handle their case.

The IRS plans to assign 12,500 accounts with unpaid tax debts to three private agencies beginning Sept. 7. About 40,000 accounts will be turned over by the end of the year. The IRS chose taxpayers who owe less than $25,000 and don't dispute the debt.

Anyone contacted by a private collection agency has the right, among others, to insist that only the IRS deal with their account. Bennett said he hoped few taxpayers with debts sent to private collectors would opt out.

"The purpose of this program is to provide value to the American taxpayer. Those who don't pay have an impact on everybody else who does," he said. "We want this program to work, and we think we've designed the necessary security, privacy protections."

Since when do tax collections provide value to the taxpayer?

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Posted: Thu - August 24, 2006 at 05:06 AM  Tag


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