Lois Lerner Notwithstanding, Here Are 3 More Reasons to Fear The IRS
As IRS official Lois Lerner tangles with Congress over whether she has waived her Fifth Amendment rights, let's not lose sight of the big picture: Even apart from the current revelations and admissions that the IRS targeted Tea Party groups for politicized scrutiny, there's a ton of reasons to be leery of the federal government's tax collection operation.
Click above to watch a 90-second vid that details 3 More Reasons to Fear the IRS. We released this originally on May 21 and here's a snippet of why we all should be afraid—very, very afraid—of business as usual at the IRS:
1. It's always been a political weapon.
John F Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, and Richard Nixon all sicced the IRS on enemies and dissenters. And they were just following in the footsteps of Franklin Roosevelt, whose son said his father was "the originator of the concept of employing the IRS as a weapon of political retribution."
2. Its rulings are super-complicated and capricious.
The federal tax code is longer than Atlas Shrugged, Ulysses, and the Old Testament put together. It's so complicated that even former IRS commissioners need help preparing their returns.
3. It's Obamacare's enforcement mechanism.
Starting next year, the IRS will be the cop patrolling the Affordable Care Act's mandates, with the agency overseeing some 47 tax provisions related to Obamacare. You won't just be reporting income anymore. You'll be explaining when, where, and how you bought health care as well.