Congress moves to turn back taxes over to debt collectors

[Live and Learn]

Source: Washington Post

The Internal Revenue Service would be required to turn over millions of unpaid tax bills to private debt collectors under a measure before the Senate, reviving a program that has previously led to complaints of harassment and has not saved taxpayers money.

The provision was tucked into a larger bill, aimed at renewing an array of expired tax breaks, at the request of Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), whose state is home to two of the four private collection agencies that stand to benefit from the proposal.

<snip>

Although the IRS aggressively pursues those judged able to pay, Olson, an IRS employee who serves as the taxpayers’ voice in the agency and before Congress, said the agency takes a more flexible approach to those who are struggling financially. In many cases, she said, the IRS simply waits for the taxpayer to amass a refund and uses that money to bring the account current.

<snip>

More to the point, Olson said, private debt collection has not worked well in the past. During the most recent attempt, from 2005 to 2009, IRS information shows that private agencies collected about $98 million. But they were paid $16.5 million in commissions. And it cost the IRS an additional $86 million to administer the program, including money spent to make sure the contractors did not use sensitive IRS data to benefit their private customers, such as credit card companies.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/congress-moves-to-turn-back-taxes-over-to-debt-collectors/2014/05/15/152d2f7a-dc4d-11e3-bda1-9b46b2066796_story.html

[DJ13]

1. Schumer

[Live and Learn]

2. Exactly! nt

[blackspade]

3. Reviving a failed privatization scheme that rips off tax payers...

never saw that coming...

[SamKnause]

4. Fuck it, just fuck it.

This is aimed at the little fish.

[Kelvin Mace]

5. Yet again,

more proof that these people are NOT our allies. They are wholly-owned by their corporate masters.

[Fantastic Anarchist]

19. Can someone explain why we have Democrats representing us?

I mean Democrats as a whole. I know there are a few "outliers" like Warren, et al. But we have no Labor Party that represents us.

This is a failed system. Or it's very successful if you are a person with a massive seat at the tiny table.

[Kelvin Mace]

21. Well, one reason

is that if you start pushing for a third (fourth) party people accuse you of wanting to hand the country to the GOP. Any criticism of the Democratic Party is viewed as support for the GOP.

[Fantastic Anarchist]

22. Which is kind of sad. n/t

[A Simple Game]

29. Yet I see no other way to fix the problem, we must start voting for 3rd party candidates.

Nothing else will scare them, they know that 90% of registered Democrats will vote for the Democratic candidate no matter what their stand on the issues and 90% of registered Republicans will vote for the Republican candidate no matter what their stand on the issues. They only fight for the few independent votes they need to win. Most of their rhetoric has more to do with contributions than what the voters want or how they will actually vote on the issues.

We need a mass exodus from both major parties. Both sides need to stop settling for what they perceive as the lesser of two evils and vote for the best candidate even if that candidate is running on the Cookie Monster line.

Most grass-root Republicans and Democrats have more in common with each other than differences, if we joined forces with like minded independents we would be a solid majority. We also need to quit thinking of the Republicans as the enemy, as a whole they aren't, their bought and paid for representatives and senators are the enemy as are many of the Democratic representatives and senators.

[Maedhros]

34. You've hit the nail on the head.

If Democratic politicians screw over their corporate donors, there are consequences: no more corporate dollars from that donor. So they have a strong incentive to act in favor of corporations.

If Democratic politicians screw over their base, the base enthusiastically votes them in again (and again, and again). There is no incentive for Democratic politicians to act in favor of the rank-and-file.

It is demanded that we vote for Democrats and that we not expect anything in return for it.

[QuestForSense]

39. Good job describing how the system itself is rigged in very few words.

[Maedhros]

41. Don't blame ME - I voted for Kodos!

http://ippep04-vip:3128/1:86400:86400:55535c64786861757468405553@000000005376677f/f617ef9bd1d7647fbd058ade81b7df23/1400116178/

[mahatmakanejeeves]

6. Private debt collectors, you say?

I just started this thread in the Economy forum:

Taking on the country’s biggest debt buyer, Midland Funding

[elleng]

7. Damn.

Have dealt directly with IRS, professional and understanding, worked out agreement easily, at NO COST to IRS!

[flpoljunkie]

8. Awful on several levels!

[adirondacker]

9. More corporate welfare. They've already done it with student loans. nt

[SoapBox]

10. Grrrrrrr....thanks loads Schumer.

Someone please gets some Tweets going about this and put him in the hot seat!

[yurbud]

11. it's almost like the Democrats are daring us to start a new party

[fredamae]

12. Clearly and Once Again

"neoLib dems" prove not All Democrats are worthy of serving.

[DFW]

13. My cousin in the USA and I have been harassed by the same collection agency

She and her husband were harassed unmercifully by a NYC collection agency in a case of mistaken identity. Her husband has a very common name, and they simply got the wrong one. It didn't do them any good, and she was a judge on the NY tax court at the time. It took a LONG time to get rid of them.

I ran into the same people because a theater production I had supported owed the state of New York a couple of thousand (something like $2475) in some obscure tax no one even knew existed. Since none of the people involved lived in New York, the state turned it over to a collection agency, who inflated the amount due to $150,000 (no lie), and said that if they could get a down payment of $40,000, at least the interest would stop running up. I asked a friend who lives in NYC to locate the government agency responsible and ask them how much we really owed. When we found out it was $2475, we paid it, and the collection agency STILL kept harassing us for $150,000 until they figured out we knew what their scam was, and they gave up.

Not everyone has friends who can intervene like this, and not everyone is married to a judge who can make life unpleasant for aggressive collection agency thugs. Letting gangsters take over the work of the IRS is a REALLY REALLY REALLY bad idea--except for Congressmen who are linked with the collection agencies, and will get a cut of whatever they legislate to the collection agencies' advantage.

This is corruption in its purest form, and anyone in government who claims not to see this is at best lying, and at worst, supporting it with their own personal financial gain in mind.

[freshwest]

36. Scary stuff. Thanks for letting us know how they did this. And yes, most can't fight back.

[n2doc]

14. Well that's sure to GOTV for Democrats in november!

[peoli]

15. debt collectors are scum and the credit reporting system is a farce

it keeps people in a financial prison for most of their lives.

[Purveyor]

30. Schumer is with equal company on this. eom

[bvar22]

16. Typical.

How much did this endorsement cost the "Private" Debt Collection Agencies?

3rd Way Democrats have never seen anything they didn't want to "Privatize",
and give their corporate friends a 15% rake off the top (and their son-in-law a good job).

These are NOT my Mom & Dad's Democrats.
They are NOT my Democrats either.
The ARE Republicans masquerading as Democrats,
and I'm sick of it.


[font color=firebrick][center]"There are forces within the Democratic Party who want us to sound like kinder, gentler Republicans.
I want a party that will STAND UP for Working Americans."
---Paul Wellstone [/font][/center] [center] [/font]
[font size=1]photo by bvar22
Shortly before Sen Wellstone was killed[/center][/font]

[shanti]

31. you got that right

[stuffmatters]

17. Both morally and economically obscene

[PumpkinAle]

18. Al Capone come back all is forgiven..........

at least with the Mob you knew you were being screwed and they were more honest in their dealings.

[libodem]

20. Sounds Gruesome

Draconian and Republican.

[Sunlei]

23. The IRS collects ok as it is. They take from the next years refund or take the peoples property.

I think this is a 'for profit' bonanza for some private collection agency to take a huge cut of every tax payment!

More people will suicide over this Congress or develop a 'back to the wall- postal-like rage' toward the IRS.

The Federal Gov. doesn't need more 'created' public hate toward our Federal agencies.

Congress how about turning the 10 or more years overdue BLM accounts, like "hate the Feds- Bundy Clan", to your new 'for profit' collection agency?

[Maedhros]

37. They did this with Student Loan debt collection back in the 90s.

Student debt was sold to collection agencies, but not before a 25% penalty was tacked onto the amount owed - and that penalty was paid preferentially, meaning that until the penalty was paid off no amount of the payments received were being allocated to interest or paying down principal. That little trick added thousands of extra dollars to the debt burden above and beyond the penalty.

It goes without saying that Clinton didn't veto the bill that authorized that bullshit.

[geardaddy]

24. Fuck that shit.n/t

[msongs]

25. fear not, our president will veto any such nonsense nt

[Ed Suspicious]

26. yeah. hope so.

[Maedhros]

40. Obama does not use his veto power.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_presidential_vetoes

Here is a list of recent Presidents and their vetoes (Regular/Pocket/Total):


Harry Truman 180/70/250
Dwight Eisenhower 73/108/181
John Kennedy 12/9/21
Lyndon Johnson 16/14/30
Richard Nixon 27/17/43
Gerald Ford 48/18/66
Jimmy Carter 13/18/31
Ronald Reagan 39/39/78
George H. W. Bush 29/15/44
Bill Clinton 36/1/37
George W. Bush 11/1/12
Barack Obama 2/0/2

Here are the two bills Obama vetoed:

1: December 30, 2009: Vetoed H.J.Res. 64, Making further continuing appropriations for fiscal year 2010, and for other purposes. Override attempt failed in House, 143-245, 1 present.[35]

2: October 7, 2010: Vetoed H.R. 3808, the Interstate Recognition of Notarizations Act of 2010. Override attempt failed in House, 185-235 (280 required).[36]

[Mr.Bill]

27. And when these predatory debt collectors, who will probably represent themselves as the IRS

use all kinds of illegal practices to get their money, the GOP will blame it on the IRS.

[christx30]

44. If something is your job,

and you pass it along to someone else, you're still responsible if things get cocked up.

BOSS: Jenkins! I told you to fix the numbers on the Anderson account. I wanted it on my desk before 5. Where is it,
JENKINS: I gave it to Daniels. Then he took his birthday off.
BOSS: you're fired.

So if the IRS delegates their jobs to this outside company, they are responsible for everything the collection agency does. Every threat. Every lie. Every illegal action.
Is this agency going to represent themselves with the authority of the IRS? Can agents from XYZ collections come to your house to take your property if you tell them to stick the bill where the sun don't shine?

[Mr.Bill]

45. This is precisely why

this function should not be turned over to private enterprise.

[christx30]

46. I agree totally.

The IRS has a whole hell of a lot of power. Picture that power in the hands of people with the ethics of corporate America.

[Jefferson23]

28. The OP details there is NO economic benefit, and it is clear once again this is another

bullshit claim that only benefits private business and costs the tax payers.

What a damn tool this guy is.

[savalez]

32. Is this the bill that just got filibustered?

[donnasgirl]

33. This is why young people

Are turning the other cheek on the Democrats,
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2014/05/15/only-half-of-young-obama-voters-are-prepared-to-vote-for-democrats/

[QuestForSense]

35. Something about the second phrase in the second paragraph is giving me a bad taste in my mouth.

The provision was tucked into a larger bill, aimed at renewing an array of expired tax breaks, at the request of Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), whose state is home to two of the four private collection agencies that stand to benefit from the proposal.

[misterhighwasted]

38. Whittling away at our democracy till there is nothing left.

The plan was set in motion a long time ago & with the purchase of our governing body the plan is coming to fruition. Well done Wall Street. Well done Global Oligarchs.
W T F is left?

[tomm2thumbs]

42. Schumer has lost the last of any respect I had for him

I don't even watch him on the Sunday shows... a waste of my time. Pity.

[Agony]

43. fuck chuck