Commentary

EDITOR’S NOTE:  I don’t for a moment want to distract you from the $433 billion President Biden wants to spend on his fantasy of combating climate change, and the tax increases, but you need to know about the little-reported investment included for the Internal Revenue Service.

While reading about the $124 billion included in the so-called “Inflation Reduction Act” to increase the Internal Revenue Service’s ability to track tax cheats, I recalled writing an op-ed about the tax cheats in the federal government for a Texas weekly newspaper about 10 years ago. Some 300,000 federal employees and retirees owed $3.4 billion in back taxes.

I was surprised at the time that there were delinquencies in the Treasury Department, including the IRS, however, the major delinquencies were among military and civilian retirees.

Years later, delinquencies were not materially reduced and current data isn’t readily available.

Unbelievably, in 2014 the Obama administration approved nearly $3 million in bonuses to more than 2,800 IRS employees with recent substantiated conduct issues resulting in disciplinary action, including $1 million to more than 1,100 employees with substantiated federal tax compliance problems, according to the U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.

About two thirds of IRS employees received cash bonuses and other performance awards, such as 10,000 hours of extra time off and a number of faster-than-normal pay grade increases during the period 2010 to 2012.

NEWS FLASH … in April 2014 it was the weak-kneed Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin who wrote, “How can we expect the American people – many of whom are struggling to make ends meet – to trust their government when they learn that the very agency charged with collecting their tax dollars is rewarding employees who haven’t paid theirs?”

Too bad he’s abandoned today’s struggling Americans.

Two Senate bills introduced to address tax delinquencies by federal employees went nowhere.  In 2014, the No Bonuses for Tax Cheats Act, introduced by Senators Burr and Manchin was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.

Then, in 2021, the FERDI Act introduced by Senators Braun and Ernst was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

In 2020, the IRS issued an internal circular, “Talkpoints for Managers: Federal Employee Tax Compliance Responsibilities,” in which it reminded employees of the need for timely filing of all tax returns, and that full payment of all taxes be made when due. As if they needed to be reminded.

Despite a 1998 law requiring the IRS to fire employees who are willfully out of tax compliance, some 300 employees in fiscal 2017 identified as delinquent on their taxes, with non-compliance issues in previous years, were not fired.  They were determined to be “unwilfully” non-compliant.

And let’s not forget how the Justice Department, in its 2015 investigation of the IRS targeting scandal, claimed “there is not sufficient evidence to seek any criminal charges against Lois Lerner or another IRS officials.”  The DOJ letter merely stated that the IRS “mishandled the processing of tax-exempt applications in a manner that disproportionately impacted applicants with the Tea Party and other similar groups, leaving the appearance the IRS’s conduct was motivated by political, discriminatory, corrupt or other inappropriate motive.  Ineffective or poor management is not a crime.”  Did those bonuses contribute to the “inappropriate” actions of IRS employees?

Kramerontheright continues to believe that it was former President Obama’s voiced displeasure with the Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission during his 2010 State of the Union, and his urging that a bill be passed to correct it, was a signal that triggered the IRS to delay the tax-exempt approvals of conservative organizations.

Not to be overlooked is then Vice President Biden’s comment on ABC’s Good Morning America the following day, referring to the Court decision as “outrageous,” and adding that “we have to correct it.”

The ink isn’t dry on the Inflation Reduction Act.  We can only hope people will come to their senses.

FINALLY … my August Fool’s Day “honor” goes to Senator Manchin.

May God continue to bless the United States of America.