Read ProPublica's excellent work on the IRS's targeting of poor taxpayers

[thomdunn]

Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2020/11/02/read-propublicas-excellent-work-on-the-irss-targeting-of-poor-taxpayers.html

…

[hecep]

A police officer sees a drunken man intently searching the ground near a lamppost and asks him the goal of his quest. The inebriate replies that he is looking for his car keys, and the officer helps for a few minutes without success then he asks whether the man is certain that he dropped the keys near the lamppost.

“No,” is the reply, “I lost the keys somewhere across the street.” “Why look here?” asks the surprised and irritated officer. “The light is much better here,” the intoxicated man responds with aplomb.

[PsiPhiGrrrl]

More reasons why the IRS needs to be on the Biden administration’s top 10 list of agencies needing funding reform.

[Sludge]

@thomdunn (quoting ProPublica)

The agency uses relatively low-level employees to audit returns for low-income taxpayers who claim the earned income tax credit. The audits — of which there were about 380,000 last year, accounting for 39% of the total the IRS conducted

Resulting in approximately zero dollars added to the treasury.

@further quoted

It takes senior auditors hours upon hours to complete an exam. What’s more, the letter says, “the rate of attrition is significantly higher among these more experienced examiners.” As a result, the budget cuts have hit this part of the IRS particularly hard.

Because the revolving door leads to a lucrative career protecting the ultrarich from the agents’ former colleagues.