Power of the IRS
An investigation by the Treasury Department Inspector General is going on into charges of the IRS fraudulently certifying official records to support illegal tax assessments and short paying interest to taxpayers, which created fraudulent penalty and interest charges, and manipulating taxpayer’s files to assess tax against them. For taxpayers who have been abused by the IRS this comes as no surprise. To those who haven’t yet been abused, this may come as a shock. I am an abused taxpayer and have been abused extensively – twice. My first abuse came in 1985 when the IRS audited my business and took two years to assess bogus charges, penalties and interest against me amounting to $250,000. The tax I was eventually required to pay was $30,000, but not without years of appeals and fighting the IRS .
Now I am being assessed twice that amount and experiencing the exact same scenario: Trumped up taxes, penalties and interest, and as in 1985 I am being assessed these taxes without the opportunity to defend myself to the auditors.
Our legal system is based on the premise innocent until proven guilty. But the IRS operates on the premise guilty until proven innocent. So the taxpayer is found guilty by the auditors and has to prove himself innocent – backwards to logic and the American way, but perfectly legal by our tax laws.
After two audits, I am becoming educated and have learned why IRS auditors will overly assess. It is because their raises, vacations and promotions are all based on the amounts of taxes assessed on taxpayers, not on the amount of tax collected, but the amount they assess. Our tax system allows and advocates IRS auditors to assess high bogus taxes and presumes taxpayers are guilty. This is because the IRS has “presumed correctness” bestowed on them by Congress. How much more unfair can it get? A lot more – since no one ever audits the IRS, why not falsify taxpayers’ records and get even more taxes, raises, vacations and promotions?
In 1997 and 1998 at the Senate Finance Committee hearings it was publicly promised that if any proof of IRS illegal behavior could be found the committee would act. As taxpayers it is our right to demand that the Senate Finance Committee act on this IRS fraud. As abused taxpayers it becomes our mission to make sure something is done, we can only take so much abuse before we fight back. Isn’t it time for tax reform that limits the IRS’s power and corrects these abuses?
David P. Alan, OD
Connellsville
Parade will go on
The 65th annual Halloween Parade marched down the streets of Uniontown on Oct. 23. The parade was led by Froggy and Pickle radio stations, our new co-sponsors. There were trucks, a limousine, hearse, cruisers and much more.
It was the biggest and best Halloween parade Uniontown has ever had. I marched in the parade as Pocahontas along with the Indian Chief. My children, grandchildren and great-grandchild also took part.
I want to thank Froggy and Pickle for coming to our aid when I made a plea for donations to save our parade. Also, I want to thank Mayor Sileo, the VFW Post 47 and all the wonderful people who offered donations. All donations are being returned to the donors as Froggy donated the whole $2,200, the annual cost of the parade. They said they will co-sponsor the parade in the years to come.
So, to the people out there, the parade will go on.
Ermine Rowe
Uniontown