This event occurred over eight years ago. The IRS was raked over the coals for such raids and as a result underwent extensive reforms. Reference:
http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1998/07/09/irs/
WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, July 8) -- Americans are just one signature away from tax collection reform as the Senate Thursday approved the bill that would make sweeping changes in the way the Internal Revenue Service interacts with taxpayers.
The bill, which enjoyed strong bipartisan support in the Senate, passed on a 96-2 vote. The House approved the measure 402-8 before it left for the 4th of July vacation.
Sen. William V. Roth Jr. (R-Del.), who spearheaded the measure, called it historic after the vote. "All we seek is an agency that provides service, civility and fairness to the American people," Roth said.
In a statement, President Bill Clinton also praised the bill's passage and said he will sign it.
"I am pleased that the Senate has finally passed bipartisan legislation to reform the IRS and strengthen taxpayer rights," Clinton said. "This reform will help my effort to create an IRS that respects American taxpayers and respects their values. I look forward to signing it into law."
In the Senate, Vermont Republican James Jeffords said the changes will make the IRS a "kinder, gentler agency."
Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) called the reform bill a first step, adding Congress must still act to simplify the tax code.
"Americans have every reason to celebrate," said Roth, chief author of the legislation. "They have let their desire be known, and they have been heard."
The IRS overhaul bill was the result, in part, of last September's highly publicized hearings in which taxpayers told horror stories of their treatment at the hands of the U.S. tax agency.
The IRS reform bill includes the following provision:
The burden of proof in civil court cases involving tax disputes would be shifted from the taxpayer to the IRS.
The IRS must suspend penalties and interest if the agency waits more than 18 months to tell someone they owe additional taxes.
People who face collection actions due to tax problems caused without their knowledge by spouses would be protected from some collection actions.
A nine-member board with six private citizens to oversee the operations of the IRS.
The IRS taxpayer advocate's office will have expanded powers to grant taxpayer assistance orders, which can halt tax collections in cases of hardship.
While the bill has been politically popular in this election year, some say the reform measure will have little effect on most taxpayers. Only 4 to 5 million of the 212 million personal and business returns filed annually end up in dispute with the tax collection agency, according to Phil Brand, the IRS's former chief compliance officer.
Over the next 10 years experts predict the reform measures will cost the IRS $12.9 billion, mostly in lost collections of taxes and penalties.
"Over the next 10 years experts predict the reform measures will cost the IRS $12.9 billion, mostly in lost collections of taxes and penalties. "
I don't know whether this figure came to fruition, but this is the problem with the tax protest movement. That lost revenue means that ultimately, law-abiding taxpayers will have to pay more to provide the services which government provides.
And don't get me wrong, I think that the government wastes a lot of our tax money. But the answer to that problem lies with spending reform, and doing away with pork-barrel spending, not with refusing to pay at all.
Join these guys, if you want to help make a real, substantive difference:
http://truthlaidbear.com/porkbusters/index.php