IRS Admits They Target Poor People Because It’s Cheaper

The IRS came under fire recently after it was revealed that they are auditing poor people at the same rate that they audit the top 1% of income earners. The agency finally responded to these criticisms and they admitted that its just a lot cheaper to go after poor people than it is to go after the rich people who are actually dodging taxes. Maybe they’d have more money if they actually audited the rich people? Ring of Fire’s Farron Cousins discusses this.
 

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*This transcript was generated by a third-party transcription software company, so please excuse any typos.

Not that long ago, ProPublica reported that the IRS was auditing poor people in the United States at roughly the same rate that they were, uh, auditing the top 1%. Congress saw these reports, one at some answers about this and not that long ago, called the IRS commissioner, Charles Rettig in there to ask him, what's going on, man?
Really you think poor people are the people that need to be audited as opposed to the top 1% and Rettig kind of gave some answers. He said, no, I don't necessarily think that, but I know that's what we're doing. And then recently IRS commissioner Rettig released a report that explained why they're targeting and harassing poor people instead of harassing the people who are actually hiding money from the IRS. And the answer was simple because it's cheaper. It's cheaper according to the IRS to go out there and harass a poor person than it is to harass a wealthy one. And they make it very clear, typically with the audience that they conduct for the people at the bottom of income earners, all they do is just mail them a letter. The person fills out that letter and sends it back and that's it. That's the audit. But for rich people, man Rettig explains, you gotta have a couple people doing it and you gotta go through all these documents and it's hours upon hours of man hours and we just don't have the resources for that. So yeah, we go after the poor people because that's quick and easy. You could have low level staffers doing that. We've got to have the high paid, you know, big shots taken on the wealthy folk and we ain't got it anymore.
And there's a reason they don't have it in. Rettig actually mentions this in his port or report. He says, we would like to, we want to go after these people because we know they're hiding a lot of money and that money would help us. But they've slashed our budget. Congress has, uh, for the last nine years and now our budget today when adjusted for inflation is lower than it was in the year 2010. So yeah, we have no money. We can't pay the people to go through the a high dollar tax returns with audits. So we have to go after the poor people because obviously we've got audit somebody and it's got to be the poor folk because we don't have enough money. And part of the reason we don't have enough money is because you won't let us get the money that's rightfully owed to us from the rich people because Republicans have been cutting the IRS budget for nine straight years.

#rof #trofire #theringoffire #progressivenews

[Bruintjebeer]

That is exactly the way Greece got in financial problems. Almost nobody payed their tax except for the poor.
They blew up their deficit and debt like the US is doing today.

[nige-g]

It's the same the whole world over, there's the rich and then the rest of us, always will be.
The LITTLE person always pays.

[jeffjames]

Even when the IRS was fully funded they tended to go after the people who couldn't fight back.

[wrightterence]

The IRS should be ashamed of themselves for doing this BS

[andrewliu]

The whole concept of donors in politics is just plain disgusting.

[cyberprime]

Figured. They have no shame and no respect or morals. They are no party of the people. When even the I.R.S doesn't have enough money, you know you screwed up without question

[remyn.]

The IRS going after the poor is easier, like kicking a dog when its down. Poor people don't have the know how or the resources to fight back even when they hire a tax professional to help them get it right. The IRS is downright terrifying and the fact that they are coming after the poor on purpose out of convenience is just another blow to my confidence in the government.

[davidmadison]

This is an issue that can unite left and right.

[joegillian]

This insane level of greed takes my breath away.

[moniquesaunders]

Everybody wants to target the poor shame on them we have to fight stuff like this taking advantage of people that's not fortunate

[mikes]

Remember “ We are Free “. The Government cares about our well being because they love us so much!!!

[silentotto]

That's basically the same reason that there are so few prosecutions of corporate crime. Long court fights with cases so complex that the jury can't understand them well enough to be comfortable convicting. The feds decide that it's just easier to get a corporation to agree to a fine than it is to put the perpetrators in prison.

[jarmyvicious]

Typical, they prey on those with less hope

[wayneg]

He said Congress, not the president cut the IRS budget! All politicians are on the take!

[nil]

Auditing the poor as well as the rich!? Damn I never would have expected that kind of equal treatment of American people from a government agency.

[maninblack]

THE SCIENTOLOGY tax exemption debacle showed all this to the america back in the day.

[thunderbird]

One more reason why we MUST implement a Wealth Tax

[kenbrown]

I am a Trucker in 2015 I had to sell my house to pay 8k in taxes . The IRS put a lien against me . I broke even for the tax year but not according to the IRS, , Yes that's what the IRS is about .

[lisavelasquez]

Poor people cannot afford attorneys, and their Constitutional right to Equal Protections Under the Law are criminally violated every year the IRS is allowed to persecute them without access to legal protection of equal measure. Perhaps the IRS should be tort-sued by the US Minimum Wagers that found themselves so readily discriminated against by a Federal agency with prosecutorial threat powers. Do American low-wage workers not deserve a strong defense from this? ◇Peace◇

[Hoku]

My CPA forgot to deduct the child credit in 2017 I take for my granddaughter who I’ve raised since age 2, now 15. After sending an amendment they had me send my birth certificate, my daughter and granddaughters birth certificate. I also had to send two years school records and proof of residency. It took over a year before I received my refund. My income is $22, 000 a year. The refund was $3000 that I had overpaid.