Along with the mass gathering of phone call records and emails, the Obama Administration has also been gathering all of your financial information. This data is then combed through by government computers which search for any anomalies contained in the data. If financial transactions look suspicious, not only you, but possibly other people you have associated with are then investigated. The reverse is also true. If you had any financial transactions with someone the government deems suspicious, you may also become a target.
And if the government feels like it, it can also target you at random, even if you have done nothing wrong.
What is the government agency which wields so much power over the lives of ordinary Americans? It is known as the IRS.
There are several factors that govern who the IRS chooses to audit. Firstly, some tax returns are chosen for audit through the screening of a computer. An IRS computer compares data from a return to average numbers from other people’s tax returns in similar situations looking for variances. The data that is reviewed by the computer are things like charitable donations, interest income and variations
from averages in your income bracket or zip code. If a major variance is detected, that tax return is chosen for audit.
Secondly, tax returns are chosen for audit based on comparisons with other documents like your W2s. The computer sees if your tax return matches up with your W2 and if there is a mismatch, that return is called for audit.
Thirdly, there is the category called “related examinations”. This is where returns may be selected for audit when they involve issues or transactions with other taxpayers, such as business partners or investors, whose returns were selected for audit. And finally, some returns are selected for audit purely at random.
http://www.jdsupra.com/...
Don't be swayed by naysayers who say the activities of the IRS are a necessary function of government. There are many who can arrest to the abuse of powers by this agency.
These groups are well aware of this problem and are doing their best to stop these jack booted thugs in their tracks. The include groups such as Posse Comitatus, We the People Foundation, the NRA and other right wing groups and politicians.
Even as IRS Director Charles Rossotti warned Congress about an epidemic of tax cheating which had reached $195 billion a year, Senator Phil Gramm in May 1998 denounced the agency. Peddling myths of jack-booted IRS agents tormenting American taxpayers, Gramm called on Rossotti to fire his 50 worst employees. Gramm concluded:
"I have no confidence in the Internal Revenue Service of this country. You do not have a good system. This agency has too much unchecked power."
"...Delaware Republican Senator William Roth's Finance Committee held hearings in 1997 and 1998, Mississippi's Trent Lott decried the IRS' "Gestapo-like tactics." Frank Murkowski (R-AK) similarly denounced those supposed "Gestapo-like tactics" while excoriating the Agency, "You don't need to send in armed personnel in flak jackets." Don Nickles of Oklahoma raged, "The IRS is out of control!" Meanwhile, GOP pollster and wordmeister Frank Luntz quizzed focus groups with his favorite question, "Which would you prefer: having your wallet or purse stolen or being audited by the IRS?"
http://www.perrspectives.com/...
I'm thinking of creating a petition in support of these great men. Anybody with me?