IRS info from my CPA

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I talked to my CPA today regarding a mutual client. She said one of her friends that works in an IRS office(not my town but in Oklahoma) said they have been instructed NOT to open any more audit files for any reason whatsoever...in fact to try mightily to close as many as possible as soon as possible. My CPA tells me that she intends to "owe mucho taxes" this year and is not worried about the quarterly deposits - especially the one due Jan 15 for the 4th qtr of 1999. I mentioned the idea that some people think there will be (and are NOW) plans in place to convert immediately to a national sales tax systsem. She pointed out that this would take an "act of Congress" - but just think: all the collection procedures could be palmed off on the states just as they now collect state sales taxes. At any rate, I thought that the bit about no more new audit files was interesting.

-- jeanne (jeanne@hurry.now), December 03, 1999

Answers

It would be nice if the IRS would walk off into the sunset, but implementing a national sales tax could not be implemented in a short time frame. Remember, cash registers have to be reprogrammed, new reporting forms have to be created, new computer programs have to be written, a new bureaucracy has to be built to handle the new taxes..etc., etc., etc.

-- fatanddumb (fatdumb@nd.happy), December 03, 1999.

Jeanne,

I appreciate your help. However, I am concerned about your CPA discussing a "mutual" client.

-- Tess (preparingfortheworst@prayingforthebest.com), December 03, 1999.


Disclosure of credit standings and tax information is NOT illegal, so there is no reason why she cannot discuss a client with her CPA.

-- Hawk (flyin@high.again), December 04, 1999.

It has been asked here many times if we hope for Y2K failures. I think it's fair to say that most of us don't. But I gotta tell ya, if there is one failure that I do hope for, it's the IRS!

Tick... Tock... BOOM!!!!! <:00=

PS - And don't go warming up the flame throwers. I'm all for a national sales tax, or something like it. I don't want to see the government fail, just the IRS... <:)=

-- Sysman (y2kboard@yahoo.com), December 04, 1999.


My father recently died and I am one of the estate executors. Our attorney told us that the IRS has got so many problems that the time needed just to get the first estimate returned has ballooned. It will require well over 18 months to clear a fairly simple estate situation instead of a more normal 90 days.

-- Forrest Covington (theforrest@mindspring.com), December 04, 1999.


A National sales tax would be un-Constitutional. It will never happen! The Constitution says "No direct tax shall be laid".

-- bbb (bbb@bbb.com), December 04, 1999.

The Constitution says "No direct tax shall be laid".

Uhhhhhh........what?

-- Forrest Covington (theforrest@mindspring.com), December 04, 1999.


The only reason the present tax gets by the Constitution is because the income tax is voluntary. Many IRS brochures say that it is voluntary. Why do millions of Americans volunterr to pay tax and then complain about paying it? Something wrong there! IRS claims that over 20 million Americans have bowed out of the voluntary tax system.

-- smitty (smitty@sandiego.com), December 04, 1999.

A National sales tax would be mandantory and that is why it is un constitutional!!!

-- snodgrass (snod@grass.com), December 04, 1999.

Did any of you hear Alan Keyes at the debate the other night?

It looks like there's actually a candidate I can vote for with a clean conscience.

-- Ron Schwarz (rs@clubvb.com.delete.this), December 04, 1999.



A national sales tax would be hugely regressive -- it would take a much larger percentage of income from poor people than from rich people. It would also invite cheating on a massive scale, since all you would need to do is deal directly with someone and avoid retail transactions. And it would turn every shop keeper into a tax collector.

Given the populist stance most of you regularly take, are you sure this is what you want?

-- You Know... (notme@nothere.junk), December 04, 1999.


"A national sales tax would be hugely regressive -- it would take a much larger percentage of income from poor people than from rich people. It would also invite cheating on a massive scale, since all you would need to do is deal directly with someone and avoid retail transactions. And it would turn every shop keeper into a tax collector. "

But this isn't true of state sales taxes?

If you fail to file income taxes deliberately you go to jail. It's a crime. Not very voluntary.

-- Forrest Covington (theforrest@mindspring.com), December 04, 1999.


Uh, Jeanne - just a note to the wise. Several states DO NOT HAVE SALES TAX!

I happen to live in one - Oregon.

Now, I guess that means we get to slide!!! QUICK start a retail business in Oregon! We need the jobs!!!!

Ok, I'll calm down.

Jolly 8^)

-- Jollyprez (jolly@prez.com), December 04, 1999.


I for one would be sad to see the IRS go down. Not that they treat everyone properly but we must have some way to collect the taxes that maintain the infrastruction of our country and our military which is basically the only reason that the national government should exists.

The government is the one to blame for overtaxation. The IRS just collects, albeit sometimes to exuberantly, what they are instructed to collect.

-- the Virginian (1@1.com), December 04, 1999.


The personal income tax has nothing to do with maintaining the infrastructure.

It's about bleeding off income, to keep a lid on (er... to "regulate") the economy.

No, I don't have a cite, but as I recall, that's the gist of what was said by either some committeedrone in Congress, or a high-up bureaucrat in the IRS or Treasury dep't. IOW, it's official policy.

-- Ron Schwarz (rs@clubvb.com.delete.this), December 04, 1999.



Hello Tess! I have been assisting one client with a problem that had some tax aspects. The client asked that I work with his CPA, which happens to be my CPA also. No unauthorized disclosures were involved. You are correct that it is a touchy area. That is probably why many people from small to medium-sized towns take their tax work out of town to someone who isn't related to half their neighbors.

-- jeanne (jeanne@hurry.now), December 04, 1999.

Forrest:
"If you fail to file income taxes deliberately you go to jail. It's a crime. Not very voluntary."

Actually the criminal penalty is there ONLY if you owed taxes.

If you don't owe any taxes and you don't file, you don't go to jail.

You can take this a step further by defining TAXPAYER as defined by the IRS and then you discover another loophole. which I won't get into now, because I'm starting to drift this OT, sorry.

-- plonk! (realaddress@hotmail.com), December 04, 1999.


A tax on petroleum products will probably be instituted immediately. The strategic oil reserve is being put on line for sale. Federal tax on gasoline is already a given the infrastructure to accomplish this is in place.

-- 1GI (noaddress@outthere.now), December 04, 1999.

Forest, you must have been laying low when there was a few days discussion about the CSPAN IRS presentation 3-4 weeks ago. The federal income tax is most definitely voluntary. Many individuals, former IRS agents, researchers, etc. and the like have come forward to tell you what they know.

http://www.devvy.com/symposium_19991129.html

http://www.devvy.com/abra_19991021.html

-- C Deitchman (cdeitchman@bigfoot.com), December 04, 1999.


bold off?

-- plonk! (realaddress@hotmail.com), December 04, 1999.

Just my $.02. As a supervisor I had an employee that refused to pay taxes based upon it not being constitutional as well as voluntary. I know for a fact that her wages were garnished for several years afterwards. This was about 7-8 years ago. Voluntary or not this is what happened when someone I knew chose to not pay their Federal income tax. Have things changed since then? I don't know. I just know this happened. FWIW.

I personally agree with Sysman with regards to the IRS failing. Were this to occur, it wouldn't break my heart in the least. What would a acceptable replacement solution be? National flat rate, state collections, ???, I don't have a solution. I only know that my perception of the IRS is that they waste our money through waste and inefficency, like the seeming majority of Federal institutions. What hurts is the IRS does have the bite, (or at least used to), to match their bark. Change would be a good thing.

-- Ken Mitcham - Bothell, WA. (ken_mitcham@yahoo.com), December 05, 1999.


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