Haven't read it yet...

www.gao.gov/new.items/gg99176.pdf

R.

-- Roland (nottelling@nowhere.com), September 17, 1999

Answers

I like the heading "

-- y2k dave (xsdaa111@hotmail.com), September 17, 1999.

I like the heading " Actions are under way

-- y2k dave (xsdaa111@hotmail.com), September 17, 1999.

www.gao.gov/new.items/ gg99176.pdf 

Here is the hot link. It is a meg plus file for those with slow connections.

-- Brian (imager@home.com), September 17, 1999.

A link that works: Here

Read the executive summary. They're toast.

-- Dog Gone (layinglow@rollover.now), September 17, 1999.

Say Diane, can you convert this document to text at the Adobe site??

This is a GAO critique of the IRS y2k contingency plans. Looks like MAJOR trouble for our beloved IRS.

Ray

-- Ray (ray@totacc.com), September 17, 1999.

Wouldn't the public be interested to learn this?? Alan Greenspan must be pooping his pants, right now.

-- Dog Gone (layinglow@rollover.now), September 17, 1999.

That's correct, Dog Gone. I've gone and soiled myself.

-- Alan Greenspan (MakinMeMad@you.too), September 17, 1999.

The GAO reviewed two of eighteen contingency plans the IRS submitted to them and gave themn feedback last June.

Here is a snip from their letter to the IRS:

"As part of our effort to provide IRS with timely feedback on our observations regarding its Year 2000 efforts, in June of 1999, we informed the IRS officials of our concerns regarding these two plans. We also told them that our concerns raised questions about the extent to which other plans may have similar weaknesses. In response to our concerns, IRS officials agreed to make changes to improve the completness and consistency of thesetwo plans ......."

Ray

-- Ray (ray@totacc.com), September 17, 1999.

Another snip:

"IRS does not have viable, alternative backup systems for the various information systems used for processsing tax returns. Further, IRS' refund plan acknowledges that in the event that one or more of these systems fail, IRS may experience "a major work stoppage" depending on how long the failure continues."

Ray

-- Ray (ray@totacc.com), September 17, 1999.

egads...I'm having trouble with the link!!!

could they have pulled the file? anyone have a copy?

Mike

=====================================================================

-- Michael Taylor (mtdesign3@aol.com), September 17, 1999.

THIS LINK WORKS assuming you have adobe acrobat.

-- Dog Gone (layinglow@rollover.now), September 17, 1999.

As a former EDP Auditor, I really love the pithy, understated tone of most GAO reports.

My favorite line is on page 2: "Without appropriate performance goals, IRS has little assurance that the contingency actions specified in the plan are appropriate for reducing the impact of a potential Year 2000 failure."

Note that the IRS plans to update their contingency plans to reflect the findings of the report. They have a little over a hundred days to redo their plans and implement the early actions (such as obtaining a couple truckloads of green eyeshades and quill pens).

-- Mad Monk (madmonk@hawaiian.net), September 17, 1999.

Ray or anyone,

Whenever you have the complete internet PDF code of a document, you can send an e-mail to Adobe for an instant, automatic text conversion...

Send to: pdf2txt@adobe.com

The Subject line can be anything, but ONLY one pdf code can be in the body of the message... just the code... no message.

Within a couple minutes Adobe will send you back a text coverted copy. Youll miss the graphics, but it allows the Adobe Acrobat challenged to see what its all about.

(If for any reason it doesnt convert, try resending it, or contact the Adobe web-site folks for help).

This it the complete IRS pdf code...

http://www.gao.gov/new.items/gg99176.pdf

Worked fine, when I tried it. (Cleaning that puppy up for posting would take awhile. Don't have time at the moment. Maybe later.)

Diane

-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), September 17, 1999.

God, I love it! BC plan:

1) Notify the public. 2) Go back to manual (for 91 million returns). 3) Bend over and kiss your ass goodbye.

Assuming, of course, the Postal Service gets them there in the first place.

Your tax dollars at work, Ladies and Gentlemen.

-- Roland (nottelling@nowhere.com), September 17, 1999.

>>(such as obtaining a couple truckloads of green eyeshades and quill pens)<<

ROFLMAO!! Mad Monk....this sentence is well worth the price of admission (i.e., Server busy messages)

LOL....LOL I'm waiting for the TV spot from the IRS like the one on TV a few years ago where some IRS rep. woman who looked skeletal invited all those people who'd "left the system" to come back....They really gave the game away there. What is the estimated number (by the IRS) who've "left the system"? 50 million, if I remember rightly. If they're admitting to 50 million the number is sure to be higher...

With the green visors and quill pens they'll need those cute garters that go over the long sleeves of the button-down shirts.

ROFL!

-- Donna (moment@pacbell.net), September 17, 1999.

we're doomed I tell ye, doomed...

next year...

flat tax/sales tax

guaranteed

gubbmint needs to get funding somehow...

-- Andy (2000EOD@prodigy.net), September 17, 1999.

Donna - The report says that last year, the IRS received 91 million paper returns. I believe that the majority of folks do paper returns. And ther are how many citizens employed in the U.S.?

You do the math...

R.

-- Roland (nottelling@nowhere.com), September 17, 1999.

hahaha...

Must be post marked no later than April 15, 1900.

-- no talking please (breadlines@soupkitchen.gov), September 17, 1999.

Even though this report shows that the IRS doesnt have a backup plan, is there anything on the net or otherwise that TRULY shows the IRS is doomed. I dont mean it just makes sense they are doomed because they dont have contingency plans, I mean do we see anything anywhere which is proof that they are really going down. Something concrete. Links?.

thanks.

-- hamster (hamster@mycage.com), September 17, 1999.

Oh, by the way, too bad about Greenspan's pants.

-- no talking please (breadlines@soupkitchen.gov), September 17, 1999.

Sigh - you know - I read this sort of thing and for some reason I get this overwhelming urge to go buy more TP. Can anyone explain this phenom?

-- April (Alwzapril@home.com), September 17, 1999.

hamster,

Go to Info.gov...

http://www.info.gov/ cgi-bin/search_gov

(Note: if the link reverts to the main page, click on Search to get the form).

Enter search terms under...

Search for: IRS Year 2000

Click the button for All of the words entered

Toggle and get documents to: 50

Keep... from database set at: All Federal Government

Have fun. You can also try variations on the search term theme. Experiment.

When you're done, check out the Senate and House Y2K committee web- sites, the rest of the GAO, the GPO and the USIA/USIS Washington Files... for starters.

DIG... it's out there. (Report back while you're at it).

;-D

Diane

-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), September 17, 1999.

Must be post marked no later than April 15, 1900.

Now doesn't that just say it all? LMAO!

Thanks for the good laugh.

-- semper paratus (cause_i'm@the_tax.man), September 17, 1999.

Bold off. Italics off.

-- Linkmeister (link@librarian.edu), September 17, 1999.

What do you guys want? I'm beggin' ya. Don't be translating this report from that indecipherable pdf format to something that will sweep the web like Jim Lord's Navy Report.

It will be hard to squelch. We can't keep pulling that trick off.

Look, if I give you permission to prepare for FOUR days, will you just shut up?

I'm beggin' ya.

-- Alan Greenspan (MakinMeMad@you.too), September 17, 1999.

And I still haven't gotten my 1998 refund...(sigh)- would have bought lots of rice and beans.......

P.S. guess those of you who get taxes deducted at work should declare ten dependents.........better to have to pay it to them than have it deducted and not get it back. I took some IRA money out this year to pay off the last of my mortage- they asked if i wanted them to send the penalty money to the IRS for me- I said no way- if the IRS is still around in 2000, I'll deal with that then.....!

-- farmer (hillsidefarm@drbs.net), September 17, 1999.

On a more serious note, what can the government do if the IRS goes down? Some of the ideas that have been proposed:

(1) National sales or value added tax. This minimizes the number of returns that are filed, as only organizations that manufacture, produce, or sell goods and services would need to file. The ordinary citizen would not need to file this return.

(2) Flat tax. This minimizes the complexity of the returns that are filed.

Neither one addresses the immediacy of the problem. If the IRS goes down, the government doesn't have money... It can take short term actions, such as "printing" more or borrowing more. Either method would be highly inflationary. Basically, it needs money on a regular basis to avoid the Russian situation. The sales or VAT tax could be implemented in less than a year.

-- Mad Monk (madmonk@hawaiian.net), September 17, 1999.

Farmer: My sister's husband is an IRS agent and she's has been telling me for almost 2 years now that the IRS aren't and will not be ready. She told me the other day that the IRS is behind 2 years on audits and tax notices. My sister claims 10 dependents because they believe the IRS won't be around. She's using the extra money to buy supplies.

-- bardou (bardou@baloney.com), September 17, 1999.

Taken from an IRS letter:

"Please enter in the date of your death."

-- quoter (quoter@quoterr.com), September 17, 1999.

Perhaps another alternative taxation route would be to tax petroleum products (e.g., gasoline, oil, etc.). While this would not be equitable, it would be quick to implement (the only returns would be from importers and refiners). And as to inequity...that doesn't stop Congress now...

-- Mad Monk (madmonk@hawaiian.net), September 17, 1999.

P.S. guess those of you who get taxes deducted at work should declare ten dependents.........

Already doing it...

If anyone is planning on cashing out of their 401k, don't listen to those know-nothings Flint and double-ddecker, just ask the plan administrator to send you the cheque and not keep any witholding tax...

this way you avoid the tax + penalties until april 1900 - next year -

ha ha ha

-- Andy (2000EOD@prodigy.net), September 17, 1999.

I believe that what we will see, sooner or later, (which will line up with scripture) is a combination of a sales tax with a cashless system.

The two systems integrated together will combine to form the ultimate in evil, totalitarian enslavement. Where people will not be able to buy or sell unless both parties have all their slave papers and documents in order. If the government or any agency has any kind of lien or political axe to grind against you, you are toast. This would be the ultimate in repressive government. The kind of repressive power that Bill Clinton only dreams about.

I don't see that world bankers with the nation/governments of the world would be able to implement and get both of these systems working in the year 2000 though. It will take the Anti-Christ or satan himself to get it fine tuned. It is prophesied that mankind will not be able to buy or sell without the mark of the beast. Those whose names are written in the Lambs book of Life, who will live forever, will not take the mark. If you take the mark you are a dead man.

sdb

-- S. David Bays (SDBAYS@prodigy.net), September 17, 1999.

He, he, he,

Sold my last (large) block of highly appreciated securities (basis was 11 CENTS/share, sale price $66/share) on Jan. 4, 1999.

Payback's a bitch, eh?

Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha Ho, Ho, Ho He, He, He

Bwaaaa Haaa haa he he he hee hee hee.

-- Im (Not@saying.com), September 17, 1999.