Half an Animaniacs Sketch
Remember the Good Idea, Bad Idea sketches on Animaniacs? This is like that, except without the Good Idea part.
"Within two weeks, the I.R.S. will turn over data on 12,500 taxpayers - each of whom owes $25,000 or less in back taxes - to three collection agencies. Larger debtors will continue to be pursued by I.R.S. officers.
The move, an initiative of the Bush administration, represents the first step in a broader plan to outsource the collection of smaller tax debts to private companies over time. Although I.R.S. officials acknowledge that this will be much more expensive than doing it internally, they say that Congress has forced their hand by refusing to let them hire more revenue officers, who could pull in a lot of easy-to-collect money.
The private debt collection program is expected to bring in $1.4 billion over 10 years, with the collection agencies keeping about $330 million of that, or 22 to 24 cents on the dollar.
By hiring more revenue officers, the I.R.S. could collect more than $9 billion each year and spend only $296 million - or about three cents on the dollar - to do so, Charles O. Rossotti, the computer systems entrepreneur who was commissioner from 1997 to 2002, told Congress four years ago. "
So we're going to spend MORE money, and give people's tax data to private debt collection companies. To collect back taxes. Which the collection companies will keep almost a quarter of. Instead of hiring more IRS agents. That's... actually about the level of stupidity and incoherence I've come to expect from the Bush Administration. Man, when people talk about the "serious" Republicans, I have no idea what planet they're on.
"Within two weeks, the I.R.S. will turn over data on 12,500 taxpayers - each of whom owes $25,000 or less in back taxes - to three collection agencies. Larger debtors will continue to be pursued by I.R.S. officers.
The move, an initiative of the Bush administration, represents the first step in a broader plan to outsource the collection of smaller tax debts to private companies over time. Although I.R.S. officials acknowledge that this will be much more expensive than doing it internally, they say that Congress has forced their hand by refusing to let them hire more revenue officers, who could pull in a lot of easy-to-collect money.
The private debt collection program is expected to bring in $1.4 billion over 10 years, with the collection agencies keeping about $330 million of that, or 22 to 24 cents on the dollar.
By hiring more revenue officers, the I.R.S. could collect more than $9 billion each year and spend only $296 million - or about three cents on the dollar - to do so, Charles O. Rossotti, the computer systems entrepreneur who was commissioner from 1997 to 2002, told Congress four years ago. "
So we're going to spend MORE money, and give people's tax data to private debt collection companies. To collect back taxes. Which the collection companies will keep almost a quarter of. Instead of hiring more IRS agents. That's... actually about the level of stupidity and incoherence I've come to expect from the Bush Administration. Man, when people talk about the "serious" Republicans, I have no idea what planet they're on.