Rangel Passes Bill Prohibiting Private Tax Collectors

[Joanne98]

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/10/12/155022/24

by Gary Norton
Fri Oct 12, 2007 at 03:03:59 PM PDT
Step by step, sometimes painfully slowly, we are returning some sanity to the operations of the Federal Government. It will take years to unwind all the craziness of the Bushies, and certainly some issues are more important than others, but on Wednesday one more step was taken in the right direction. The House passed H.R. 3056, the Tax Collection Responsibility Act, which prohibits the IRS from hiring any more private tax collectors. It also prohibits the renewal of the private collection contracts that expire next year.

This legislation is necessary for three main reasons. Giving private taxpayer information to private contractors compromises the privacy of taxpayers. Secondly, these contractors are being paid a bounty of up to 25% of what they collect while the IRS can do the same thing with it's employees for less than 3%. And Finally, it's the epitome of a governmental function that should never be outsourced. To me, this last point is the most important and is why I think this bill is a bigger deal than it may seem on the surface.

Gary Norton's diary :: ::
There is a brief summary of the bill at the Citizens For Tax Justice cite and you can visit the Library of Congress site for the text of the bill, the Committee Report, and the floor vote. (Note: the LOC requires that you start at their home page. Just type in the bill number and you're on your way)

The bill passed on an almost party line vote of 232 - 173. The 210 Democrats voting in favor were joined by only 22 Republicans. When you cut to the chase the Republican's real objection to the bill is that they do not want to start seeing their effort to privatize there Federal Government start unwinding. Well, Rangel and the Committee Democrats knew that, which is why they included in the Committee Report this quotation from a Committee report published in 1874

`any system of farming the collection of any portion of the revenue of the Government is fundamentally wrong * * * No necessity for such laws exist * * * the Secretary of the Treasury and the head of the Internal Revenue Bureau are empowered by law to make all collections of taxes * * * The Internal Revenue Bureau is possessed of full knowledge of the laws relating to the collection of the revenue * * * and has all the machinery necessary for their full and complete enforcement.' 2

Yes sir. This was a governmental function in the Nineteenth Century and it's still one today.

The Senate has a companion bill, S. 335, introduced by Byron Dorgan and cosponsored by a twenty two others, including Joe Lieberman of all people. But no action has been taken yet.

Oh yes, where's the President on this you might ask? He's threatening a veto.
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/10/12/155022/24

[napi21]

1. Does the idiot in chief have to sign this? It sounds like something he'd veto!

I hope it can just go into effect without involving Shrub, but I suspect that's just wishful thinking!