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Started By
Message
re: The IRS has 85k employees.....
Posted on 11/18/15 at 11:18 am to shiftworker
Posted on 11/18/15 at 11:18 am to shiftworker
quote:
The FBI has 35k.
Thanks Obama.
But seriously wtf?
It's not that hard to think why. Do the math. How many citizens are there in the US?
How many criminals are there in the US?
You have to have more people to monitor the more people....silly goose!
0
Posted on 11/18/15 at 11:18 am to Rex
This is one of the reasons our antiquated, cumbersome tax code will not change. Can't cut federal employees now can we.
Posted on 11/18/15 at 11:19 am to Hangover Haven
Yeah I recall the good days of republican rule when the IRS had no employees
Posted on 11/18/15 at 11:22 am to Rex
Rex you and I fall on different sides of the political spectrum, but this is one place we can agree. The fair tax plan seems.....well fair to me.
Posted on 11/18/15 at 11:22 am to shiftworker
quote:
Or could we possibly simplify the tax code and save money on less IRS employees? Maybe logic doesn't apply to government though?
I've often thought about this, but I fear that simplifying the tax code and doing away with the IRS would cause a collapse of our economy. Do you have any idea the number of people and businesses that exist solely for tax issues?
Posted on 11/18/15 at 11:22 am to shiftworker
quote:
have heard of this (and other things like) and approve of the theory. I don't know enough to make a determination about the possibility of its real life implementation though.
Got the idea from chatting with a friend in the UK. He was saying essentially he's never filed a tax return, and that all money was withdrawn precheck. I don't think they had a flat tax though, just way less complexity.
Most people in the UK dont file tax returns...
This post was edited on 11/18/15 at 11:29 am
Posted on 11/18/15 at 11:23 am to biglego
No one is saying the republicans are perfect. Hell most of the time they are half the problem.
Posted on 11/18/15 at 11:26 am to shiftworker
I just don't see how someone works for the IRS without hating themselves. They cause more pain and suffering every day than a normal person causes in 10 lifetimes
Posted on 11/18/15 at 11:29 am to el Gaucho
85k... or 1.7k per state.
Still seems like a ton more than necessary.
Still seems like a ton more than necessary.
This post was edited on 11/18/15 at 12:11 pm
Posted on 11/18/15 at 11:30 am to elprez00
quote:
I've often thought about this, but I fear that simplifying the tax code and doing away with the IRS would cause a collapse of our economy. Do you have any idea the number of people and businesses that exist solely for tax issues
So now we depend on the government to prop up the economy? I understand what you are saying, but I don't think that's a good reason to keep doing something that is so broken.
I say fix the tax code and let free enterprise determine where that money will go in the economy. Some years ago people spent money on horses and carriages. That went away. Other products or services increased when the monies stopped being spent there. It would happen again.
Posted on 11/18/15 at 11:35 am to shiftworker
And they should have double that.
The taxpayer advocate (the group who lobbies in behalf if the U.S. taxpayer against unfair IRS practices), stated in their report before congress this year that the IRS was ridiculously understaffed.
Guess who pays for them being understaffed? U.S. taxpayers who get fricked because the IRS doesn't have the manpower to rectify mistakes when they frick up.
The taxpayer advocate (the group who lobbies in behalf if the U.S. taxpayer against unfair IRS practices), stated in their report before congress this year that the IRS was ridiculously understaffed.
Guess who pays for them being understaffed? U.S. taxpayers who get fricked because the IRS doesn't have the manpower to rectify mistakes when they frick up.
Posted on 11/18/15 at 11:38 am to biglego
You guys have any idea how many billions are stolen through fraud from the U.S. treasury because the IRS doesn't have the man power to stop it?
And who do you think pays for that?
And who do you think pays for that?
This post was edited on 11/18/15 at 11:39 am
Posted on 11/18/15 at 11:39 am to shiftworker
How many total law enforcement if you add up federal, state, county, city?
Way too many
Way too many
Posted on 11/18/15 at 12:01 pm to el Gaucho
quote:
I just don't see how someone works for the IRS without hating themselves. They cause more pain and suffering every day than a normal person causes in 10 lifetimes
IRS agents don't write the tax code, your congressmen do, yet they love to grandstand about the evil IRS and we've all bought it.
Posted on 11/18/15 at 12:08 pm to shiftworker
85K is a lot of people. What I don't understand is, why in this world of technological advancement do we need that many? Couldn't we create software that goes over a tax return and spits the outcome out? Even with the tax laws changing, I'm sure there's a technology that can cut an 85K person workforce in half.
Posted on 11/18/15 at 12:09 pm to RebelOP
quote:
Each probably making $85k
Not even close. My in laws works for them.
Posted on 11/18/15 at 12:13 pm to LSU8654722
They do use a lot of technology, but when your return is flagged for an audit you're going to want to deal with a live person and not a computer program. As long as politicians use the tax code to curry favor or shape behavior it will continue to be complicated and require a large workforce to enforce the constantly changing tax code.
Posted on 11/18/15 at 12:13 pm to Tigerfan56
Then don't complicate the tax code. Of course they need more employees for this wrecked tax structure we live with. Hell, they don't even know all the rules.
Posted on 11/18/15 at 12:15 pm to Tiger n Miami AU83
quote:
You guys have any idea how many billions are stolen through fraud from the U.S. treasury because the IRS doesn't have the man power to stop it?
And who do you think pays for that?
You are making a grave mistake in assuming those 85k employees are efficient and competent. Gov't entities aren't very well known for their efficiency.
I guarantee you an Apple or Google could do a better job with a fraction of that workforce.
Posted on 11/18/15 at 12:17 pm to NYNolaguy1
Not possible. If I mow your lawn for $20 who files the tax return and remits the tax? What do you base the tax on, the $20 I get paid, or do I get to deduct expenses from the $20 of sales I made? Every single transaction would be a separate taxable event and require reporting.
One of the claims of tax simplification is that it would stimulate economic activity, so the number of transactions should increase as a result of your proposed simplification. The the number of transactions would increase at least geometrically, if not exponentially, with increases in the population.
Bottom line is that administration of a tax system that needs to collect a few trillion dollars annually is not a trivial undertaking. If you try and turn citizens into tax collectors you will still need to audit the tax collectors to make sure they are complying with the tax laws. And history has shown that tax collectors are no more honest than tax payers.
One of the claims of tax simplification is that it would stimulate economic activity, so the number of transactions should increase as a result of your proposed simplification. The the number of transactions would increase at least geometrically, if not exponentially, with increases in the population.
Bottom line is that administration of a tax system that needs to collect a few trillion dollars annually is not a trivial undertaking. If you try and turn citizens into tax collectors you will still need to audit the tax collectors to make sure they are complying with the tax laws. And history has shown that tax collectors are no more honest than tax payers.
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