IRS chief to GOP: You can't abolish us

[Brian4Liberty]

IRS chief to GOP: You can't abolish us (http://thehill.com/policy/finance/237510-irs-chief-to-gop-you-cant-get-rid-of-us)
By Bernie Becker - 03/31/15


The IRS commissioner on Tuesday brushed aside GOP proposals to abolish his agency, insisting the U.S. would have to have a tax collector one way or another.

“You can call them something other than the IRS if that made you feel better,” the agency’s chief, John Koskinen, said after a speech at the National Press Club.

Republicans have heaped even more criticism upon the agency than usual over the last 22 months because of its improper scrutiny of Tea Party groups.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) perhaps has made the most prominent calls to get rid of the IRS. While launching his presidential bid earlier in March, he floated the idea of “a simple flat tax that lets every American fill out his or her taxes on a postcard.”

Koskinen said Tuesday that, even under the simplest of tax codes, the federal government would need an agency to collect revenue and administer the tax code, something Cruz’s own aides have also admitted.

“Somebody has to collect the money, and then somebody also has to make sure when you fill in the small card, you’re putting in the right numbers,” Koskinen said.

But Koskinen also said he understands why politicians seek to tap into public anger at the IRS. Conservatives have become increasingly angry at the IRS because of the Tea Party controversy, but Koskinen insisted that an overly complicated tax code spurred much of the anger at his agency.

“I think that’s a lot of what’s behind, you know, ‘get rid of the IRS.’ It’s really ‘get rid of this complicated tax code.’ And to that extent, I think that’s a reasonable goal,” Koskinen said.
...
More: http://thehill.com/policy/finance/237510-irs-chief-to-gop-you-cant-get-rid-of-us

Some comments:

- The "Abolish the IRS" meme is a short and easy way to express a desire to eliminate income taxes. Assuming that there are forms of taxation other than on personal income, the IRS chief is correct that there would be some kind of government agency overseeing that, albeit drastically reduced in size and scope compared to the current IRS.

- Harry Browne and Ron Paul popularized the "Abolish the IRS" slogan, and they meant something drastically different than Ted Cruz's flat tax proposal. Ted Cruz's proposal would be preferable to the crony corporatist disaster that is today's current tax code, but that would still not change the scope of the IRS. Everyone would still be directly under the thumb (and tyranny) of the IRS.

[roho76]

Translation:


You can't quit me, motherfuckers. I own your ass.

[Anti Federalist]

Translation:


You can't quit me, motherfuckers. I own your ass.

The justifying quotation of both spousal abusers and slaveowners.

[Uriel999]

Those assholes really wouldn't like my proposal then. I propose we not only abolish the IRS but also execute every employee from the top to the bottom for treason. Fuck'em.

[jkr]

abolish you?

we are going to put you in jail
can you say RICO?

[muh_roads]

Never trust a politician that says they want to end the IRS without explaining the connection to the Federal Reserve.

Eliminating the Federal Reserve or drastically reducing their power with competing currencies will ALWAYS need to be the first step. The IRS will just naturally wither away and reduce greatly if central banking is successfully challenged.

We always say we feel competition in everything is good. How about competition in the money? The root thing everyone spends their whole lives chasing after yet most don't understand shit about it.

[Ronin Truth]

"It is well enough that people of the nation do not understand our banking and monetary system, for if they did, I believe there would be a revolution before tomorrow morning." -- Henry Ford

[ThePaleoLibertarian]

The mainstream GOP has no intention of actually abolishing the IRS.

[Danke]

abolish you?

we are going to put you in jail
can you say RICO?

And CPAs and Tax Attorneys.

[muh_roads]

And CPAs and Tax Attorneys.

Yeah the lobbying power behind H&R Block and all of these types of companies/people would be relentless.

"Protect jobs, don't end the slavery."

[Anti Federalist]

The mainstream GOP has no intention of actually abolishing the IRS.

Ends thread.

[ctiger2]

Actually you CAN get rid of the IRS.

Why We Need To Crash And Burn (http://armstrongeconomics.com/2015/03/30/why-we-need-the-crash-burn/)


Another central banker asked was it really possible to eliminate taxes? Would the state replace direct taxes with indirect? Yes, we are no longer on a commodity barter system. The wealth of a nation is its people not how much it gets back in taxes.

Eliminating debt that we have no intention of paying off which every central banker concedes is insane behind the curtain. So why do we borrow historically with no intention of paying anything back? Keep in mind that I have stated this is FEDERAL, whereas taxes would be still imposed locally unless we extend the proposal to all levels, which is going to be very hard if not impossible. That would be the best goal. Reorganizing cities into regions and reducing local government structures will reduce the cost of government. Maybe one day we will see that.



Also Martin's gonna introduce legislation post Oct 1, 2015 US Bond Market Collapse when there's panic to Restoration of the Constitution Act.

A Reason to be Optimistic (http://armstrongeconomics.com/2015/03/24/a-reason-to-be-optimistic/)


While confronting the fact that we are in a terrible downward spiral with a major Sovereign Debt Crisis which cannot be prevented because we are plagued by total corruption in government, the ray of hope comes from these profound events I call a Crash & Burn. They are as Schumpeter described, waves of Creative Destruction.

It is wrong to WISH disaster upon society, and another to be practical and understand that these waves of tumultuous economic events is how society functions. It is the brush fire of the vanities that renews the forest.

There is a reason to be optimistic and this is the entire reason I am doing this Solutions Conference this weekend on Saturday. I just did an interview with a leading Germany economic newspaper on the Solution. At first the discussion was about pessimism v optimism. When I was done explaining the process, the light went off and he said OMG, this is really revolutionary.

We have an opportunity here to take that next step for mankind. It is a big step in our economic evolutionary process, but if we take it, a major realignment will unfold before our eyes and the ramifications will be far-reaching to say the least.

http://i0.wp.com/armstrongeconomics.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Restoration-of-the-Constitution-Act.jpg

[JohnGalt1225]

The mainstream GOP has no intention of actually abolishing the IRS.
Any mainstream GOP candidate that speaks of "ending abortion", "securing the border", or "abolishing the IRS" is just throwing red meat out to the base so they can mentally masturbate over it.

What good would abolishing the IRS accomplish without addressing the Fed or our corrupt monetary policy? We'd just end up trading one 3 letter agency for another most likely.

[ChristianAnarchist]

FOULK YOU IRS !!!

[idiom]

Sorry the dude is completely right on this.

Cruz wants to change the income tax profile, and still collect the income tax, but do it without having an IRS?

Cruz is a genius.

[DamianTV]

Challenge Accepted.

[DamianTV]

Any mainstream GOP candidate that speaks of "ending abortion", "securing the border", or "abolishing the IRS" is just throwing red meat out to the base so they can mentally masturbate over it.

What good would abolishing the IRS accomplish without addressing the Fed or our corrupt monetary policy? We'd just end up trading one 3 letter agency for another most likely.

Same reason as they continue to blow smoke up our asses about "securing the border" but never addressing the "other" major problem, which is the Welfare State, which, again, is an extention of the IRS as Taxation is another means of Wealth Redistribution. When we understand that Welfare IS Wealth Redistribution, we start to see how all these things are very interconnected, and the end of the Middle Class happens.

[Weston White]

Tax Preparation Industry Profile ... 8,287 firms operated in the field last year, generating 7.7 billion in annual revenue. ... There were128,393 total employees in the field last year.

https://www.franchisehelp.com/industry-reports/tax-preparation-industry-report/


In fiscal 2014, H&R Block had annual revenues over $3.0 billion with 24.2 million tax returns prepared worldwide.

http://newsroom.hrblock.com/investor-relations/


Total TurboTax Units (2012): 24,546,000

Founded in 1983, Intuit had annual revenue of $3.9 billion in its fiscal year 2011. The company has approximately 8,000 employees with major offices in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, India and other locations.

http://investors.intuit.com/files/Intuit-FY14-Form-10-K-FINAL-CLEAN-to-RRD-pdf.pdf


Fiscal 2014 Compared with Fiscal 2013

Consumer segment total net revenue increased $123 million or 7% in fiscal 2014 compared with fiscal 2013 due to 10% growth in paid federal TurboTax units, partially offset by changes in product mix. Online federal units represented approximately 80% of total federal TurboTax units for the 2013 tax season, up from approximately 78% for the 2012 tax season.

http://investors.intuit.com/files/Intuit-FY14-Form-10-K-FINAL-CLEAN-to-RRD-pdf.pdf



InfoSpace, Inc. (NASDAQ: INSP), a leader in online search, today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire TaxACT, a leading provider of online tax solutions, for $287.5 million in cash. The acquisition is subject to satisfaction of customary closing conditions and is expected to close in the first quarter of 2012.

For the twelve months ending September 30, 2011, TaxACT had revenues of $78.1 million and adjusted EBITDA of $37.8 million. For the twelve months ending September 30, 2011, InfoSpace and TaxACT together generated pro forma revenue of $290.0 million, pro forma adjusted EBITDA of $72.5 million, and pro forma non-GAAP net income of $45.6 million or $1.21 per diluted share.

Based in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, TaxACT is the second largest provider of online tax solutions. With approximately 70 full-time employees, TaxACT participates in the large and growing $20 billion tax preparation market. The Company had more than five million tax filers last season, with the vast majority of those customers filing online.

http://www.taxact.com/press/2012/infospace-to-acquire-taxact.asp

[Warlord]

Woah im getting ted cruz campaign ads on RPF... Bryan needs to fix that.

[jbauer]

Those assholes really wouldn't like my proposal then. I propose we not only abolish the IRS but also execute every employee from the top to the bottom for treason. Fuck'em.

Its all fun and games to say you want to harm someone. In a private conversation with someone, they can tell if you're talking tongue in cheek. On the internet its not so easy. What you've said could very easily be taken as a threat. The last thing we need to do is attract even more government attention.

[moostraks]

As if...

[Pericles]

That would require Congress to actually do something.

[ChristianAnarchist]

Same reason as they continue to blow smoke up our asses about "securing the border" but never addressing the "other" major problem, which is the Welfare State, which, again, is an extention of the IRS as Taxation is another means of Wealth Redistribution. When we understand that Welfare IS Wealth Redistribution, we start to see how all these things are very interconnected, and the end of the Middle Class happens.

And then there's the "other" more gigantic problem by several magnitudes: Corporate Welfare!! If all the corporate welfare was cut to zero and the money divided up amongst all people living in USA (even the "illegals"), we could all retire and live on Hawaii (although it might get a bit crowded...)

[DamianTV]

And then there's the "other" more gigantic problem by several magnitudes: Corporate Welfare!! If all the corporate welfare was cut to zero and the money divided up amongst all people living in USA (even the "illegals"), we could all retire and live on Hawaii (although it might get a bit crowded...)

Good point. When people dont get paid enough for the work they do, dont qualify for health insurance cuz they are part time, bring home so little that they "need" (*ahem), thats Govt subsidizing unlivable wages. Well, depends on what caused the unlivable wages to begin with, and that is Inflation, not the Corporations, yet the Corporations get bailed out, and as always, the little guy suffers the full weight of both Inflation and Corporate Slavery.