Posted on 06/13/2021 6:37:31 AM PDT by karpov
The lesson of this week’s leak of billionaires’ tax returns isn’t that taxes are too low, the rich should pay more or any of the other claims the leak was designed to support. The lesson is that Republicans must realize that Democrats are no longer their only political foe. They face an equally potent and dangerous federal bureaucracy—committed to destroying GOP officials and propelling a liberal agenda.
ProPublica claims not to know who provided the confidential tax data of thousands of American citizens, including some of the nation’s wealthiest people. The left-leaning media outlet acknowledges it ran its piece even though its source could have been a “state actor hostile to American interests” that hacked the private data. Perhaps—though it’s unclear what value Russia or China might see in outing Warren Buffett’s tax returns.
The more likely scenario is that a federal employee with access to Internal Revenue Service records compiled the information, identified a media operation that could be relied on to disregard privacy rights and then dumped the data at a moment carefully timed to aid Joe Biden’s tax-hike agenda.
Mission accomplished. The ProPublica story was a moralizing snoozefest, thousands of words (and the threat of more installments) to explain that the U.S. tax code allows deductions for loan interest, charitable giving and business expenses, and that the nation’s elite actually use these deductions. Also, ProPublica informs us that people don’t pay tax on capital gains until they realize capital gains. The nation’s liberal and social media nonetheless spent the week dutifully pretending the story was a blockbuster exposé breaking the news that the wealthy don’t pay their “fair” share, while Democrats renewed calls for higher taxes.
The politicization of the federal bureaucracy is nothing new.
(Excerpt) Read more at wsj.com ...
The GOP is actually fine with this because their goal is a Romneyesque left of center GOP. They don’t mind losing some power if the end goal gets closer.
I have an issue with the title. It should not be “Would the IRS violate your privacy to further DemoKrat policy objectives,” rather “This is how the IRS has violated your privacy....
You mean as they did in the Obama administration?
As they tried to do in the Trump administration?
As they are now doing in the Soros/Obama/Harris/Biden administration?
.
FLASH!
The IRS has repeatedly violated the law to advance Democrat policy objectives!
Democrats weaponized the IRS for LBJ, Clinton and Ophonybama!
And you can bet the IRS is even more weaponized since Jan 20, 2021 in order to go after President Trump and his supporters!
The IRS can be abolished by replacing the Marxist inspired progressive income tax with the FAIRtax!
Absent an income tax, there is no need for an IRS!
Find out how YOU can help us do that by going to https://www.bigsolution.org!
Corrupt toadies in the press work with corrupt toadies in the IRS...
Democrat thugs trot this same message: (Uber rich people and companies pay LESS taxes than YOU do) every few years to gin up class envy and resentment. Then the same white liberal elites send out their 'Hunter' sons and daughters to sell out the country for bigger money and bigger favors.
Of course. Dumb question. It already has. It’s a corrupt, criminal organization that answers to the nearest democrat. During a Republican administration, it pretends to answer to the Republican, but actually takes its orders from the democrat establishment.
Well duh. They’ve been doing it for years.
Generally, the IRS only violates privacy if it serves to increase their own political power, to facilitate the confiscation of a taxpayer’s assets, or to advance a political agenda.
However, people with sadistic tendencies are attracted to public service in the IRS, so there’s also the possibility of privacy violations to indulge an agent’s envy, to punish an agent’s rival, or just for the heck of watching another human being suffer.
Lois Lerner.
Next question.
5.56mm
Having worked at a center many decades ago, yes armed guards and access-controlled doors. Even back then, we were warned at the beginning, the release of taxpayer info was a federal crime. I concur there would be an audit trail. No member of the public was ever allowed in the facility (that I saw). Only employees were allowed past the guards. I never even recall being informed of any Congress people touring the facility. There were about ten of the facilities around the country back then. Since was all paper documents, the public could walk in and deposit their tax forms in a locked box in the lobby (to avoid post office delay). Those days are long-past, I’m sure, given some world events over the past few decades. That facility no longer exists. It was closed and moved.
I eventually was sent to work in an area that processed payments (among other things). No, there was never any cash. Which was a good thing. I would not have wanted to be responsible for that. It was checks, money orders, etc. I’m sure some people may have sent cash; but such would never have been forwarded to my group. As I recall, my badge had special access to that room and other employees were forbidden to enter. In fact (been a long time) I don’t even recall any unauthorized employee even attempting to enter. We were a somewhat-small group, and supervisors were always present (multiple). Non-department employees would have been immediately recognized as unauthorized Once the doors closed no unauthorized person could even accidentally walk in.
When I was in banking I/T, we had an audit trail for when certain data was even looked at, through one of the terminals. For example, if a bank teller looked at a customer’s account multiple times, say for months, the backups would likely have that logged. Even for years. For the files were backed up on a daily basis.
Yes. L2.
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