Legal Commentary

Bailout Bill Gives IRS Agents Permanent Authority to Work Undercover

By TChris

Did you know this?

The bailout bill also gives the Internal Revenue Service new authority to conduct undercover operations. It would immunize the IRS from a passel of federal laws, including permitting IRS agents to run businesses for an extended sting operation, to open their own personal bank accounts with U.S. tax dollars, and so on. (Think IRS agents posing as accountants or tax preparers and saying, "I'm not sure if that deduction is entirely legal, but it'll save you $1,000. Want to take it?") That section had expired as of January 1, 2008, and would now be renewed.

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Starting with the so-called Anti-Drug Abuse Act in 1988, the IRS has possessed this authority temporarily, with occasional multiple-year lapses. A 1999 internal report said the IRS had 126 "trained undercover agents" working in field offices at the time. This is the first time that such undercover authority would be made permanent.

Even worse are the IRS agents who engage in undercover drug transactions so they can bust drug dealers for failing to report income. Every law enforcement agency wants a piece of the drug war, but for the IRS to get involved is ridiculous misuse of resources. (And an ineffective means of tax collection, since drug dealers rarely save money that can be used to pay back taxes.)

We don't need IRS sting operations. There is no shortage of tax evasion schemes for agents to pursue without trying to sting taxpayers into committing new crimes. Increasing the audits of the wealthy taxpayers who are most likely to abuse the system would be a more reasonable approach to tax crime enforcement.

Full post as published by TalkLeft on October 03, 2008 (boomark / email).