Taxation & Estate Planning

Death Threats against IRS Workers

By Darrin Mish

Dozens of death threats have been posted online against IRS workers since last Sunday.  The reason?  The federal government?s health care bill.  Radical anti-government and anti-tax groups have labeled last Sunday, March 21 (the day the bill was passed by the House of Representatives) ?Bloody Sunday?.  A reference to violence, perhaps?

In the days that followed last Sunday, there had been a proliferation of hate emails and message board postings of intense protests and even discussions about how to kill IRS agents.  An inflammatory story put up on radio host Alex Jones? website, infowars.com entitled, ?The Cost of Defying Obamacare: $2,250 a Month and IRS Goons Pointing Guns at your Family? was to highlight the ?increasing millitarization of the IRS?.   The response to this story was, predictably, fury.  Comments like, ?If they actually try to do this, there is going to be a whole lot of thugs start vanishing.  This is the last line in the sand.  Those fools have just signed their death warrants!!!" and "there?s gonna be a lot of IRS agents needing healthcare if they try to terrorize us Americans," were sprouting all over like mushrooms.

The federal government is investigating every death threat against IRS agents or employees.  Such threats are not new.  Between 2001 and 2008 more than 1,200 death threat and assault cases against IRS workers were investigated.  But things have taken a turn for the worse with the passing of the health care bill especially since the IRS has been charged with the responsibility of enforcing the health care law.

The recent incident where a pilot of a Cessna airplane deliberately crashed into the IRS office in Texas, killing himself and an IRS worker, served to further embolden anti-law and anti-government protestors.  The pilot, Joseph Stack left a detailed suicide note online citing his many grouses against the government and in particular, the IRS as the reason for doing what he did.  To many of the anti-law and anti-government protestors, Stack became a hero.  Numerous posts were subsequently made online in support of Stack?s actions, prompting the inspector general to investigate about 70 of such posts.

In response, the IRS is increasing its security facilities in all its locations nationwide.  The IRS has 755 offices in the US but 64% of them do not have adequate security features.  Many of these are walk-in centers with nothing more than a lock on the door as its only means of security.  This year, the IRS will be spending $100 million to beef up office security.

Darrin T. Mish is a veteran, nationally recognized tax attorney who has focused on providing IRS help to taxpayers for over a decade. He regularly travels the country training other attorneys, CPAs and enrolled agents on how to handle their toughest cases with the IRS. He is highly ranked among the top attorneys in the country, with an AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell and a perfect 10 on Avvo.com. Martindale-Hubbell has also honored him with a listing in their Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers. He is a member of the American Society of IRS Problem Solvers and the Tax Freedom Institute. With clients on every continent but Antarctica, he has what it takes to solve your IRS problems no matter where you live in the world. If you would like more information about his practice and how he can help you, please call his office at (813) 229-7100 or toll free at 1-888-GET-MISH.

Death Threats against IRS Workers is a post from: IRS Tax Problem Solver Blog - IRS Help

Full post as published by IRS Problem Solver Blog on April 08, 2010 (boomark / email).