How Many IRS Agents Does It Take To Collect On ObamaCare?

More than 1,000, according to Paul Bedard of U.S. News:

The Internal Revenue Service says it will need an battalion of 1,054 new auditors and staffers and new facilities at a cost to taxpayers of more than $359 million in fiscal 2012 just to watch over the initial implementation of President Obama's healthcare reforms. Among the new corps will be 81 workers assigned to make sure tanning salons pay a new 10 percent excise tax. Their cost: $11.5 million.

At least the IRS can put a number on how many new staffers it will take to enforce the law. When staffers at the Congressional Research Service were asked to estimate the number of new bureaucratic entities the health care overhaul will create, they reported that the task was "impossible" because the true number was "unknowable."

Comments

[John Thacker]

Stimulus! Creating jobs!

No worse a broken window fallacy than all the green energy subsidies creating jobs.

[George Hamilton]

Among the new corps will be 81 workers assigned to make sure tanning salons pay a new 10 percent excise tax.

Eighty-one is Not nearly enough.

[Ira Ass]

Nice little tannin' salon youse gots here ...

[J sub D]

People who tan on the beach will get charged with tax evasion.

[Sovereign Immunity]

What about naturally melanin gifted? Will they have to pay some sort of inheritance tax?

[Mr. FIFY]

Reparations?

[Zeb]

Remember, if you make less than $250,000 your tax will not increase by one dime.

[cynical]

Very few people will see their taxes increase by exactly one dime. And the IRS doesn't take coin anyway, AFAIK.

[Old Mexican]

Among the new corps will be 81 workers assigned to make sure tanning salons pay a new 10 percent excise tax. Their cost: $11.5 million.

But it's a deficit reducing bill! Deficit... reducing!

[Old Mexican]

The Internal Revenue Service says it will need an battalion of 1,054 new auditors and staffers and new facilities at a cost to taxpayers of more than $359 million in fiscal 2012 just to watch over the initial implementation of President Obama's healthcare reforms.

Nobody said that deficit reducing was going to be cheap...

Ok, enough jokes - I am PISSED! The whole bill is a fucking JOKE!

[Congress]

You read the whole bill?!

[Nancy Pelosi]

Are you serious? Are you serious?

[Stretchy]

My quick and dirty math makes that $141975.31 per worker. Then I wonder, does that include the cost of current and retirement benefits?

[Stretchy]

That was just for the tanning salon inspectors. For the entire new 'battalion' that comes out to $340607.21 per new employee.

[Nancy Pelosi]

But... it's about JOBS, JOBS, JOBS!!!

[Irub]

Wait, what? 340k a year? That's it, I am applying for IRS inspector.

Sure beats my current salary.

[Nancy Pelosi]

Then I wonder, does that include the cost of current and retirement benefits?

Ah, HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

[sevo]

Those union dues are hell to pay.

[Ken Shultz]

There's your moral argument against ObamaCare right there...

Believe me, those 1,054 new IRS attack dogs aren't gonna be sicked on people making more than $250,000 a year.

They're going after poor people! They're going after unemployed people who chose to pay their rent instead of buying health insurance. They're going after single-moms in the inner city, who decided to send their eldest to college rather than buy health insurance...

What Obmama has done in the name of helping the uninsured is unconscionable. For shame!

Shame on Obama forever.

[Sovereign Immunity]

They're going after poor people! They're going after unemployed people who chose to pay their rent instead of buying health insurance. They're going after single-moms in the inner city, who decided to send their eldest to college rather than buy health insurance...

Ridiculous Mr. Shultz! Why would they do such a thing, except the occasional obligatory example. This is designed to go after the middle class. You know, those people who actually pay taxes, but don't make the big bucks. Yeah, those uppity folks who bought the bill of goods if you play by the rules, life should be pretty OK. The rest of the people who don't pay taxes will just simply see their earned income credits reduced.

[Old Mexican]

😀

[Ken Shultz]

Earned Income Credit money isn't money?!

What's the penalty at for a family anyway? Last I heard, it was $695 per family member per year. For a family of four who has a hard time keeping the electricity on and food on the table?

That's hardship.

[Sovereign Immunity]

So you advocate wealth redistribution then?

[Ken Shultz]

I hate income taxes. I don't begrudge the poor keeping whatever money they get to keep.

I just don't think Obama should use the IRS to go after poor people for not buying health insurance...

...and whether we're talking about working poor people who would buy other things they need instead of health insurance, or whether we're talking about formerly middle class people, who've lost their jobs and are trying to keep their homes rather than buy health insurance--I don't think the Obama Administration had any business hiring an army of IRS agents to go after such people for being too poor to buy health insurance.

...but no, I don't give a shit if the poor don't pay income taxes. I wish the rest of us didn't have to pay income taxes either. The more people who can get out of paying them, the better!

[Ken Shultz]

...but then I don't think the poor or anybody else owes me anything but liberty and justice, so why would I care if the poor aren't paying their proportionate share?

They don't owe me any money anyway.

[Barely Suppressed Rage]

What about the fact that not only do a lot of "working poor" not pay any income tax, they get the EIC (Earned Income Credit) as a "refund."

That is, the gubmint gives them a "refund" of money they never paid as taxes. It expressly is forced redistribution - the money comes from those of us who do pay net taxes (last year I paid something around 24% of my income in taxes) and is given to those who paid no taxes.

I'm all for being charitable and helping those who legitimately can't help themselves - and we do give to charity. But as Madison himself said, I cannot undertake to lay my finger on that provision of the Constitution which empowers Congress to spend the money of its constituents on charitable endeavors.

[Ken Shultz]

Way to snag defeat out of the jaws of victory, dude!

Obama exposes himself as an oppressor of the poor--without without qualification--by bringing in 1,054 new IRS officers for the express purpose of oppressing the poor...and you somehow turn it into yet another opportunity for Progressives to call libertarians heartless?!

Why?

[Madison in Wisconsin]

people who don't pay taxes will just simply see their earned income credits reduced

Don't reduce those credits unless you want to end up like me.

[MNG]

I wish my liberal brethern would provide the same critical focus on IRS agents as they would police and correctional officers. All are given power to ruin lives.

[Citizen Nothing]

"...as they would police and correctional officers."
Ahahahahahaha!
There's an interesting story in my state, where the new governor, Kasich, is now apologizing to a cop.
At a conference a couple years back, Kasich called the cop an "idiot" -- not by name, mind you -- because the cop was a jerk when writing Kasich a ticket.
Guess who is jumping on the governor with both feet? (Kasich is an "R", by the way.)

[Liberal Brethren]

We gotta break some eggs to make an omelete.

[mr simple]

So is the unconstitutionality of the law a defense against being audited?

[Sovereign Immunity]

Ha! The unconstitutionality of this law sure isn't stopping it's implementation. They gotta get every last dime, by hook and crook, to laughably attempt to pay for this clusterfuck. You just try and duck out of an audi: you'll be saying hi to Wesley Snipes.

[Lawrence Tribe]

Nope.

[Tim]

They're gonna need 81 guys to handle George Hamilton.

[Rock Action]

Alt-text: And when you get home, be sure to read my literature about the Israeli-American Empire!

[Mr. FIFY]

Tanning salon versions of speakeasies... coming soon.

[puma pas cher]

well done

[chaussures puma ferrari]

ok.