The Government Wants The Name Of Anti-IRS Newspaper Commenters

The Business Insider ^ | 6/17/09

[FromLori]

Newspaper story on gold and tax fraud brings out the crazies. And the Feds wants their name, SS# and credit card data.

Ah Las Vegas. Home of gambling, sin and hardcore libertarian, anti-government gold bugs.

The Las Vegas Review Journalrecently reported on the trial of Robert Kahre, a guy accused of setting up a scheme to pay employees in gold coins so that they may tell the IRS they were paid by the coin's nominal, face value, rather than what that gold is actually worth when converted into dollars.

Not surprisingly, the story attracted many angry commenters, who hate the IRS and who hate paper currency.

Now, in a case that should once again test the (established) privacy rights of web commenters, the newspaper has be subpoenad for their info. And it's not just your garden variety names and IP addresses that the government wants.

Editor Thomas Mitchell wrote this weekend:

This past week the newspaper was served with a grand jury subpoena from the U.S. attorney's office demanding that we turn over all records pertaining to those postings, including "full name, date of birth, physical address, gender, ZIP code, password prompts, security questions, telephone numbers and other identifiers ... the IP address," et (kitchen sink) cetera.

Tantamount to killing a gnat with an A-bomb.

There was no indication what they were looking for or what crime, if any, was being investigated, just a blanket subpoena for voluminous and detailed records on every private citizen who dared to speak about a federal tax case.

Queue more conspiracy theorizing.

[Principled]

They don’t go after private citizens for tax under the nrst.

Only business.

That makes it harder to cheat and easier to get caught.

That’s two of the reasons current tax cheats will oppose the nrst.

grin

[sausageseller]

The greatest number of business in this country are run and owned by "private citizens'.

I personally had a completely bogus state sales tax lien filed on my home resulting form my business ( a partnership) failure to pay and an arrest warrant filed.

I filed paperwork over and over and over.

Talk to them over and over and over.

I finally went to the state office building sales tax division and refused to leave till they gave me paperwork stating the tax lien was rescinded and the arrest warrant was rescind too.

So I ABSOUTLY know what I am posting about.

I have dealt with sales tax agency's in 12 different states. They are nothing but bureaucratic nightmares!

The fairtaxers that continue with this pie in the sky dream that somehow everything will be great if it is passed are being dishonest.

[redgolum]

Don’t mess with the IRS. They are not bound by the same law as cops.

You will loose, and loose big.

[FromLori]

Too true like Americas own Gestapo.

[Principled]

LOL - you’re comparing the sale tax enforcement agency w/ the IRS???

Try marching into an IRS office and demanding anything.

The IRS is in all 57 states ;) and are bureaucratic nightmares.

The difference between IRS and sales tax enforcement is that sales tax enforcement is much more efficient and accurate. What did you do wrong?

Irrespective of your fantasyland “argument”, tax cheats and an enforcement arm are components of every tax system. That the nrst will have cheaters and an enforcement arm is trivial.

What is nonsense is your position that the sales tax enforcement is anything like the IRS.

The IRS can go after anyone at all. Not so for sales tax agents - they only go after sellers.

I do business w/ Kroger, BP, Golden Pantry, and such. THey are the ones who have to remit tax under the nrst - not me. They are the ones who have to submit to tax enforcement - not me. Again, that’s why it will be harder to cheat and easier to get caught under the nrst.

I won’t even have to report income anymore. And all my previous income tax records will be destroyed. I like that.

[bamahead]

There was no indication what they were looking for or what crime, if any, was being investigated, just a blanket subpoena for voluminous and detailed records on every private citizen who dared to speak about a federal tax case.



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[JSDude1]

I agree, and it’s a good idea to boot.

Thanks for posting the article ;)!

[KingofZion]

this is really frightening.

i had written out a comment regarding a WSJ story on the IRS idiotic proposal to tax cellphones. But I decided not to post for this very reason. I guess it was a good call on my part. But rather frightening that we check our 1st amendment rights at the door of the IRS Building.

[sausageseller]

Please cite sources showing how much cheating is occurring with sales tax on any level of government.

I have had IRS trouble and SS Admin. trouble. None of it was due to improprieties on my business part.

The issue I continue to bring up is there will still be enforcement issues with the FT. There still will be a federal enforcement agency that will be just as onerous.

The difference between IRS and sales tax enforcement is that sales tax enforcement is much more efficient and accurate. What did you do wrong?

It is factual that None are efficient. FTers throw out outlandish remarks like your with me being PROOF it is not true.

The lien notice on my home and ARREST WARRANT were due to the state entering payments date on their previous year. Even though I had proof that the payments were made. They could not come to admit it was their fault.

enforcement arm is trivial.

Nothing the government does is "trivial". Thinking the IRS will be gone and your problems are over is just not backed up with a history of ANYTHING the government does. History proves me right.

I dislike the IRS yet the outlandish FTers ideas that everything will be great, are just that, outlandish.

Next in your future is the carbon tax credit enforcement agency.

[FromLori]

I think we check them online now too you read that story right?

http://www.lvrj.com/opinion/47141327.html?numComments=77

THOMAS MITCHELL: Subpoena seeks names — and lots more — of Web posters

THOMAS MITCHELL
MORE COLUMNS
“Fear of serious injury cannot alone justify suppression of free speech and assembly. Men feared witches and burnt women. It is the function of speech to free men from the bondage of irrational fears. To justify suppression of free speech, there must be reasonable ground to fear that serious evil will result if free speech is practiced.”

— Justice Louis Brandeis

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Free speech should be practiced only by those who are ready to deal with the consequences, which just might include a knock on the door by a friendly federal investigator wanting to know if you posted an anonymous comment on a Web site. Were you advocating violence or confessing to breaking the federal tax laws?

This is not a hypothetical

[chainsaw]

Because at the present time, the structure of the tax code entrenches them.

Hog wash spin!

[Principled]

you replied to the wrong poster.

And you didn’t mess up your sales taxes?