Tag Archive for: IRS

Congress Can End the Nonprofit Status of Pro-Hamas Groups

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The IRS has allowed Pro-Hamas groups to benefit from tax-exempt status.

“We give our heart, we give our life, we give our blood to the Palestinian people,” Manolo De Los Santos of The People’s Forum declared at a pro-Hamas rally in Manhattan. “Continue to resist. We stand with you. By any means necessary.”

“By any means,” the crowd chanted. A code phrase for violence and terrorism.

“We will use whatever we have in our hands,: De Los Santos continued. “A rock or something else. We will defend the Palestinian people.”

DeSantos had previously tweeted a celebratory Hamas video using paragliders and then armed terrorists attacking Israel with the message, “Long Live the Palestinian Resistance!”

In an official statement, The People’s Forum described the Hamas attacks that murdered over 1,000 Israeli civilians, the elderly, women and children, as an “unprecedented liberation struggle” by “Palestinian resistance factions”.

When it isn’t supporting the rape of women and the kidnapping of children, it’s promoting North Korea, Venezuela, and Cuba, and celebrating the “hopes and aspirations of more than a million people who joined the American Communist Party.”

And The People’s Forum is also a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit approved by the IRS.

If the name sounds like a Chinese Communist front group, that’s because it’s funded by a Maoist millionaire named Neville Roy Singham who operates out of China and funds a network of organizations like The People’s Forum. Singham’s office faces “a red banner that reads, in Chinese, ‘Always Follow the Party.’ Resting on a shelf is a plate depicting Xi.”

Also there at the pro-Hamas rally in Manhattan was Nodutdol: a pro-North Korean organization demanding the “reunification” of Korea. South Korea has accused Nodutdol of being controlled by North Korea. The organization has claimed that North Korean defectors who risked their lives to escape are guilty of “imperialist propaganda” and that claims of atrocities are fictional. Despite that Nodutdol is embedded within the DSA and often takes part in pro-terrorist rallies.

On the same day as the Hamas attack, Nodutol tweeted “power to every Palestinian fighting for their freedom, and glory to every martyr who dies fighting. For every martyr that falls, a new one will rise.” Like The People’s Forum, Nodutol is a 501(c)(3) IRS approved tax-exempt charity.

The David Horowitz Freedom Center had previously profiled the IRS decision to continue providing tax-exempt status to the Alliance for Global Justice, a Marxist organization, which uses that status to sponsor Black Lives Matter chapters, the Free Mumia Abu-Jamal Coalition in support of a cop killer, as well as bail funds whose mission is freeing rioters and criminals.

Among the organizations AFGJ sponsors is the Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network which was banned by Israel as a subsidiary of the PFLP terrorist organization.

Germany has announced that it’s also banning Samidoun as part of its crackdown on all Hamas activities in Germany. Despite that the IRS has yet to pull AFGJ’s tax-exempt status.

Samidoun responded to the Hamas attacks by promoting banners featuring “solidarity with Al Aqsa Flood”, the name of the Hamas operation, a rally calling for “solidarity with the heroic resistance”, and another one urging “let’s celebrate”.

Samidoun’s support for Hamas atrocities, including the kidnapping of Israeli women and children, was made clear in its Instagram post boasting that, “the resistance” is “seizing occupation settlers” and hailed the “resistance operation, titled the Al-Aqsa Flood by Mohammed Deif, commander in chief of the Izz el-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas”.

There is no ambiguity whatsoever about Samidoun’s support for even the worst crimes of Hamas. Despite that it continues to benefit from AFGJ’s tax-exempt status which allows its fiscal sponsor to take in money from George Soros, the Ben and Jerry’s Foundation, and others.

The David Horowitz Freedom Center also exposed the support for Hamas by chapters of Students for Justice in Palestine. The national organization of Students for Justice in Palestine praised the Hamas attacks as a “historic win for the Palestinian resistance” and put out a ‘toolkit’ which explained that the Jewish victims were “not civilians” and could be freely targeted. Its poster for a ‘Day of Resistance’ featured an image of the paraglider that Hamas terrorists had used to massacre and rape young Israelis at a music festival.

Despite its support for terrorism, Students for Justice in Palestine enjoys nonprofit status.

The Freedom Road Socialist Organization, a Marxist-Leninist group, which promotes pro-terror content through its Fight Back News, celebrated the Hamas attacks, including the attacks on civilian communities which it cheered as “Palestinians have taken over the armed settlements that surround Gaza.”

“The Islamic Resistance Movement (HAMAS), the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine and so many others represent the aspirations of a free people, Palestinians who insist on the end to occupation. Freedom Road Socialist Organization rejects the notion that freedom fighters are terrorists. We are proud to stand with the resistance,” it concluded.

The Communist group is funded through the Lucy Parsons Center, a radical bookstore in New York City named after a Communist activist, which enjoys nonprofit status. also issued a statement to “celebrate Palestinian Resistance!”

These are only a few of the examples of IRS approved 501(c)(3) nonprofit groups or those funded by them celebrating Hamas atrocities. This is in clear violation of the tax code which bars such activities.

IRS regulations specifically state that “exempt purposes may generally be equated with the public good, and violations of law are the antithesis of the public good”. They clearly lay out that, “violation of constitutionally valid laws is inconsistent with exemption under IRC 501(c)(3)” and that “planned activities that violate laws are not in furtherance of a charitable purpose”.

But the IRS has refused to enforce the rules and regulations against Islamic terrorists.

When Lori Lowenthal Marcus, a journalist, applied for tax exempt status for her pro-Israel group, the IRS informed her that it “has to give special scrutiny to organizations connected to Israel.”

Lori Lowenthal Marcus told Front Page Magazine that, “One of the excuses given to Z Street by an IRS official was that the IRS had to make sure we were not ‘engaged in terrorism’ because we mentioned ‘terror’ in our mission statement. The part of Z Street’s mission that mentioned terror? ‘We will not engage with, negotiate with or appease terrorists.’”

Offered clear examples of organizations that actually support terror, the IRS has done nothing.

Congress however could change that by regulating nonprofit groups that support terrorism. Taxpayers should not be subsidizing terrorists and their propagandists. And the tax code on this matter should not consist of general guidelines, but clear and unbreakable laws.

The IRS has failed to act. Congress can hold the IRS and pro-Hamas nonprofits accountable.

AUTHOR

DANIEL GREENFIELD

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EDITORS NOTE: This Jihad Watch column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

IRS Whistleblower Knocks Out Hunter Biden’s Lawyers And The Washington Post With One Blow

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Gary Shapley fires back on all cylinders.

IRS Whistleblower Knocks Out Hunter Biden’s Lawyers And The Washington Post With One Blow

By: Margot Cleveland, The Federalist, July 05, 2023:

Hunter Biden’s lawyers tried to turn him into a victim by smearing Gary Shapley — but Shapley fired back.

Hunter Biden’s high-priced attorneys again tried to turn the president’s son into a victim by portraying IRS whistleblower Gary Shapley as a partisan leaker and a criminal — but on Saturday, Shapley responded. Shapley’s counter was a devasting blow to Hunter Biden’s legal strategy and also represented a shot across the bow of the Biden-friendly Washington Post.

On Friday, Winston and Strawn attorney Abbe David Lowell dispatched a 10-page missive to Rep. Jason Smith, R-Mo., the chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, regarding what Lowell called the Republican House’s “obsession with attacking the Biden family.” While the letter complained of the House’s supposed abandonment of congressional protocol and rules of conduct, Hunter Biden’s attorneys’ real focus was Shapley, whom they painted as a partisan hack, not a whistleblower — and a criminal to boot.

The June 30 letter from Hunter’s attorneys strongly implied Shapley was responsible for leaking information to The Washington Post that served as the basis for an Oct. 6, 2022 article authored by Devlin Barrett and Perry Stein. The article claimed that “federal agents investigating President Biden’s son Hunter have gathered what they believe is sufficient evidence to charge him with tax crimes and a false statement related to a gun purchase…” Biden’s lawyers then challenged the House to ask the whistleblowers if they had leaked information to the Post.

Shapley didn’t wait for the House to ask, instead submitting an affidavit to the House Ways and Means Committee on Saturday in which he unequivocally swore he “was not the source for the October 6, 2022, Washington Post article.” Shapley further attested that he had never “had any contact with Barrett or Stein,” the authors of the article. He also stated under oath that he “never leaked confidential taxpayer information.”

The whistleblower then expressly authorized “the Washington Post and/or journalists Devlin Barrett, Perry Stein, or any other Washington Post reporter to release any communications directly or indirectly to or from me,” agreeing “to waive any purported journalistic privilege and/or confidentiality that would have arisen had I been a source for the Washington Post.”

At the same time, Shapley’s lawyers wrote to Washington Post authors Barrett and Stein, noting that “Biden family attorneys have falsely accused SSA Shapley of illegally leaking to you for your story, ‘Federal agents see chargeable tax, gun-purchase case against Hunter Biden.’”

“As you know, SSA Shapley was not a source for you on that story, or any other story for that matter,” the letter continued. “SSA Shapley has never communicated with either of you, either on or off the record.”

Then, after stressing that Shapley had waived any confidentiality that would have arisen, the whistleblower’s lawyers asked them “to correct Mr. Biden’s attorneys and clear SSA Shapley’s good name of these false and retaliatory charges.”

The Federalist asked both Barrett and Stein whether Shapley was a source for their article, but the reporters did not respond to the inquiries. Whether they will respond to Shapley’s entreat remains to be seen.

What is clear, however, is that Hunter Biden’s attorneys don’t care whether Shapley was the source. They are being paid to defend Hunter Biden, and beyond cutting a sweetheart deal with Joe Biden’s DOJ, that means attacking everyone else. With Shapley and his testimony representing the most serious threat to the Biden family, the attacks on the IRS whistleblower are likely to continue.

While there is little that can be done to stop Hunter Biden’s lawyers from smearing Shapley, congressional oversight committees should ensure the Biden administration’s DOJ isn’t providing an assist. A recent New York Times article suggests Hunter Biden’s attorneys are attempting to inveigle the DOJ in the attack on Shapley.

“Hunter Biden’s lawyers have told the Justice Department that Mr. Shapley has broken federal laws that keep grand jury material secret,” The New York Times reported last week. In his Saturday affidavit, Shapley also refuted this point, saying he never knowingly released grand jury material. But that might not matter to a Justice Department that answers to Hunter’s father.

Thankfully, Shapley and the other whistleblowers have a strong advocate in Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, who seems two steps ahead of everything the DOJ and other Biden apologists pull. It is unfortunate, though, that the left-wing press that once championed whistleblowers seems intent now to serve as scribes for Hunter Biden’s attorneys. If the Post reporters remain silent, we’ll know they intend to keep things that way.

Read more.

AUTHOR

Pamela Geller

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EDITORS NOTE: This Geller Report is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

Sen. Tim Scott Introduces Legislation Redirecting $15 Billion From IRS To Border Security

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Republican South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott introduced legislation Wednesday that would redirect $15 billion that was meant to help pay for 87,000 new Internal Revenue Service (IRS) employees and spend it on security measures along the southern border instead.

The Daily Caller first obtained the legislation, which is titled the Securing Our Border Act. The bill would specifically fund border inspections to better equip law enforcement to track down drugs and other illegal items or substances before they enter the United States. The bill would also fund border wall construction and other technologies to help with tracking and enforcement efforts along the southwest border.

Additionally, the legislation would give retention bonuses to Border Patrol agents and end the “catch and release” policy.

Republicans have expressed particular concern about the more than $80 billion in new funding for the IRS. Although Democrats claim the increased funding will boost revenue and enable Congress to pay down the federal debt, GOP officials argue that middle-class and poor Americans will face more audits. The funding allows the agency to hire up to 87,000 new employees.

“We have a crisis on our southern border. Rather than putting resources in place to address this major national security and humanitarian catastrophe, the Biden administration and congressional Democrats chose instead to spend $45 billion of taxpayer money to hire an army of IRS agents to audit the middle class,” Scott told the Caller before introducing the bill.

READ THE LEGISLATION HERE: 

(DAILY CALLER OBTAINED) — … by Henry Rodgers

“While President Biden continues to drop the ball, I’m introducing legislation to fund border infrastructure and give our Border Patrol agents the tools they need to help stop the unaddressed flows of illicit goods and persons into this country. Americans need more border agents keeping them safe – not thousands more IRS agents looking over their shoulder,” Scott added.

The bill has five original cosponsors —Republican Sens. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Steve Daines of Montana, Joni Ernst of Iowa, Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming, Mike Rounds of South Dakota, and James Lankford of Oklahoma — and has been endorsed by the National Border Patrol Council, a group representing 18,000 Border Patrol agents.

AUTHOR

HENRY RODGERS

Chief national correspondent. Follow Henry Rodgers On Twitter.

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EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

MAJORITY LEADER STEVE SCALISE: Here’s How The 118th Congress Will Be Different

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Republicans know that Washington is broken. Over the past two years, Washington Democrats took advantage of their majorities in the House and Senate to usher in trillions of dollars of new taxes and spending at the expense of the American people.

As a direct result, inflation skyrocketed to its highest level in decades, gas is over 30% more expensive than it was two years ago, millions of people have unlawfully entered our country and crime is surging.

Democrats do not seem to care.

In November, more than 54 million people gave Republicans control of the House of Representatives to serve as a check against the left’s extremism.

Since Republicans have won the majority, we have been working to follow through on the plan we ran on in our “Commitment to America” so we can finally get our country back on track.

At the beginning of every Congress, representatives come together to elect a speaker of the House and pass a Rules Package that establishes the governing procedure for the next two years.

The Rules Package for the 118th Congress will make the House of Representatives more accountable and accessible to the American people. One of the biggest changes we made was to end proxy voting.

If hardworking Americans have to show up to their job each day, members of Congress should be expected to do the same.

All Americans should have the opportunity to visit our nation’s capital, explore the halls of Congress, meet with their representative and see their government at work. Unfortunately, Nancy Pelosi locked down the “People’s House” at the beginning of 2020.

Republicans have done what Democrats have refused to do for nearly three years: Re-open the House of Representatives to the public so people can once again see their government work in person.

While Pelosi ignored the rank-and-file members in her party, Republicans want more involvement from our members, not less. That’s why we committed to giving lawmakers more time to read legislation before bills come to the House Floor for a vote.

Under Pelosi’s leadership, thousand-page bills and spending trillions of dollars could be introduced in the dark of night with unrelated policy provisions snuck into the text, and members of Congress would have little time to read the legislation before a vote would be called.

We want our committees of jurisdiction to have a say in what legislation comes to the House Floor for a vote. House and Senate Democrats are both guilty of circumventing committees and putting massive leadership-drafted bills up for a vote, bypassing critical committee hearings and transparency to vet legislation.

Republicans want to empower our committee chairs to take back control of the legislative process and make it easier for our rank-and-file members to offer amendments. That way, all lawmakers can better represent the people who elected them to solve the massive problems facing hardworking families.

In our first legislative accomplishment of 2023, the Republican-led House passed the Family and Small Business Taxpayer Protection Act, which would defund the Biden administration’s plan to hire 87,000 new IRS agents. But we didn’t stop there.

We created a select committee to counter the Chinese Communist Party’s malicious agenda and established a select subcommittee that will investigate the weaponization of federal agencies and how they have abused their power by targeting Americans based on their political beliefs.

The House of Representatives voted to condemn violence against churches and other groups that promote life and passed legislation that would protect babies who survived an abortion. Additionally, Republicans and Democrats joined together to stop President Biden from raiding our Strategic Petroleum Reserve and selling our emergency oil reserves to the Chinese Communist Party.

We’ve had a strong start to this new majority, but we have much more work to do for families who are struggling under the weight of President Biden’s extreme agenda.

As the Majority Leader, I’m looking forward to bringing bills to the House Floor that focus on lowering inflation, reducing energy costs, securing America’s border, giving law enforcement the tools they need to keep our communities safe and getting parents more involved in their kids’ education.

But that’s not all. We need to hold the Biden administration accountable for its many failures. The American people deserve a government that is transparent and accountable.

If the last two years have shown us anything, it is that Congress is broken and needs to change. The American people are deeply frustrated about how our government works. Republicans are taking critical steps to make our legislative process more transparent and make Congress work again.

Ending Speaker Pelosi’s heavy-handed, one-size-fits-all approach to government will help get our country back on the right track.

Steve Scalise serves as House Majority Leader for the 118th Congress. 

The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.

AUTHOR

MAJORITY LEADER STEVE SCALISE

House Majority Leader for the 118th Congress.

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EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved. All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

PODCAST: Help Wanted, IRS, Candidate Must Be Willing to Use Deadly Force

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UPDATE: ‘In A Tyrannical State, You Have To Rule By Fear’ – Why Are IRS Agents Armed?

“The common enemy of humanity is man. In searching for a new enemy to unite us, we came up with the idea that pollution, the threat of global warming, water shortages, famine and the like would fit the bill. All these dangers are caused by human intervention, and it is only through changed attitudes and behavior that they can be overcome. The real enemy then, is humanity itself.” – Club of Rome, a premier environmental think-tank, consultants to the United Nations.

These globalists believe the common man is the enemy. So it makes perfect sense that the IRS is armed when they come for your taxes, or DOES IT? Will you comply?

All policies in the Green Broke Deal can be found in UN Agenda 21. This document is over 300 pages, 40 chapters of total control over the means of production and distribution of all means of human activity.

After the raid on Mar-a-Largo, do not for one minute think you will not be next. This is the way intimidation works. This is what globalists use to keep you in line. Prepare. Read about communists, and dictators taking over. They are at their end game, where they reveal themselves because they think they won. But they got sloppy and now will lose.

We are being set up, so be on your guard. Pay attention locally and to your state politics. Sadly Globalists have taken the worst plans their evil leaders offered, plans that ultimately hurt people without remorse, were definitely over budget, and full of graft and corruption.

We will be hit with many things that don’t make sense. Don’t pay attention. Choose your battles wisely.

Sometimes we must look at things through different lenses. Join us al listen to some stories of people who were forced to live under a communist regime.

Is America worth saving? Join us on The Prism of America’s Education and find out…

GUESTS

Chris Wright is an independent liberty activist in the leadership of the Potomac Tea Party, a national Tea Party based in Northern Virginia. He is also president of the first and only nonprofit formed to empower grassroots activists with small grants. A long-time student of public affairs, Mr. Wright, began his Daily Skirmish commentaries in 2020 to directly confront the Left and deconstruct its phony narratives. Daily Skirmish Commentaries, Website:  www.Liberato.US, and www.Spider-and-the-Fly.com.

Erik Seligman is co-host of the  Stories of Communism podcast. Erik served from 2013-2017 on the board Oregon’s 4th largest school district, helping to oversee the education of about 20,000 students. He was continually frustrated with the entrenched socialist philosophy being promoted in the schools. After leaving the board, he started the Stories of Communism podcast (with his friend Manuel Castaneda, a successful local businessman & immigrant), to share the real stories of those who had suffered under socialism. He earns his living as an engineer, having recently retired from Intel after nearly three decades there, and is now a Senior Product Engineering Architect at Cadence Design Systems. He also produces a podcast called Math Mutation in his spare time. He now lives in the suburbs of Wichita, Kansas, with his wife, daughter, and cats.

The Prism of America’s Education can be heard on weekends at 1 pm ET, with an encore at 9 pm ET. Listen on iHeart Radio, our world-class media player, or our free apps on Apple, Android, or Alexa. All episodes can be found on podcast networks worldwide the day after airing on talk radio.

©. All rights reserved.

RELATED ARTICLE: New IRS “Special Agent” Job Post Description: “Carrying Firearm and Willing to Use Deadly Force”

IRS Decides It Won’t Make You Take A Selfie To Access Your Taxes After Fierce Backlash

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The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will no longer force taxpayers to submit a scan of their face to access their taxes online.

The agency had previously announced plans to require users to sign into the IRS website through third-party identity verification firm ID.me and provide a government identification document alongside a selfie. The IRS said the move would provide users with greater security and accessibility to their tax information.

However, the agency announced Monday it would be scrapping its plans to implement the verification system.

“The IRS takes taxpayer privacy and security seriously, and we understand the concerns that have been raised,” IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig said in the statement. “Everyone should feel comfortable with how their personal information is secured, and we are quickly pursuing short-term options that do not involve facial recognition.”

The decision to transition away from facial recognition technology follows fierce criticism from voices across the political spectrum as well as privacy advocates. Republican Mississippi Sen. Roger Wicker sent a letter to Rettig on Friday asking how the agency arrived at the decision to compel taxpayers to submit selfies, while The Washington Post editorial board slammed the move as posing “serious concerns about privacy.”

Democratic Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden called on the IRS to abandon its plans to implement facial recognition technology on Monday morning, just hours before the agency’s announcement.

“The Treasury Department has made the smart decision to direct the IRS to transition away from using the controversial ID.me verification service, as I requested earlier today” Wyden said in a statement. “I understand the transition process may take time, but I appreciate that the administration recognizes that privacy and security are not mutually exclusive and no one should be forced to submit to facial recognition to access critical government services.”

COLUMN BY

AILAN EVANS

Tech reporter. Follow Ailan on Twitter @AilanHEvans

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EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved. Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

Federal Government Imposes Up to $14,000 in ‘Hidden Taxes’ on Households Every Year, New Report Reveals

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Most Americans pay close attention to how much of their money is taken in taxes each year. But there’s another, less obvious way the federal government imposes financial costs on citizens—and according to a new report, it amounts to trillions annually.

The fiscally-conservative Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) just released its annual “Ten Thousand Commandments” report, which documents the “size, scope, and cost of federal regulations, and how they affect American consumers, businesses, and the U.S. economy at large.” Report author Clyde Wayne Crews explains how we face a “hidden tax” from the economic burden of our massive regulatory state. After all, tens of thousands of new regulations are imposed every year.

The report estimates the economic costs of federal regulation at an astounding $1.9 trillion annually.

To put that abstract sum in context, it’s nearly as much as the federal government collects in income and corporate taxes in a year. And a country that produced $1.9 trillion in output would be the 8th largest economy in the world (excluding the US). $1.9 trillion is more in economic output than Brazil or Italy produce in an entire calendar year.

Much of this $1.9 trillion in “hidden taxes” is ultimately borne by everyday Americans. To understand why, simply remember that regulations increase the costs associated with production. An unnecessary environmental regulation, for example, may force companies to take more cost-intensive steps during the production process. Ultimately, this leads to higher prices at the check-out line.

The CEI report explains that if we assume the costs all ultimately fall on consumers, then it equates to up to $14,368 in annual costs per US household.

This is a huge hit to the wallet. $14,368 in annual regulatory costs amounts to roughly 23 percent of the average household’s spending budget. It’s more than the typical household spends on food, transportation, healthcare, or anything except housing.

Oh, and don’t forget the $88 billion in taxpayer money spent by federal agencies each year just to administer, implement, and police these regulations.

The takeaway here is broader than just the financial impact of federal regulation, as significant as that may be. It’s yet another reminder that, as economist Frédéric Bastiat famously identified, the costs of government go beyond the obvious, what is “seen,” and extend to the “unseen.”

Of course, when it comes to the ever-expanding federal government, the most obvious cost is what the politicians in Washington, DC take from us in taxes every year. But this new report further proves that the unseen, hidden costs of the federal government’s growing involvement in economic life are even more drastic than what comes directly out of our paychecks.

EDITORS NOTE: This FEE column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

Biden Administration Ramps Up IRS Enforcement — While encouraging massive immigration law violations.

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It is hardly a secret that I have been critical of the efforts by a succession of administrations to fairly but effectively enforce our nation’s immigration laws and secure our borders against the un-inspected entry of huge numbers of aliens into the United States.

My testimony at numerous congressional hearings conducted in the House and Senate provides incontrovertible  evidence of my grave concerns about multiple failures of a succession of administrations, from both political parties, to secure our nation’s borders, enforce our immigration laws from within the interior of the United States and, in general, imbue our immigration system with true integrity to protect America and Americans while honoring America’s proud tradition of being a nation built by immigrants.

I have been equally vocal in expressing my concerns about so-called “Sanctuary” policies of numerous cities and even some states that are in apparent violation of Title 8, U.S.C. § 1324.

Several years ago, when I was a guest on the Fox News program, Your World With Neil Cavuto, Neil asked me what it would take for me to be satisfied that our immigration laws were being enforced adequately.

Neil’s question caught me by surprise but I quickly reflected on his question and then said that I would be happy with immigration law enforcement efforts if aliens in the United States were as concerned about receiving correspondence from the DHS, as Americans are about receiving correspondence from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

Neil quickly agreed, saying that my answer was profound and very fair and reasonable.

Therefore it was with a bit of bemusement and frustration that I noticed that on May 16, 2021 The Hill reported, Lawmakers bicker over how to go after tax cheats.

This report begins with the following statement:

Lawmakers are debating President Biden’s pitches to strengthen tax enforcement against high-income individuals and businesses as Congress considers different ways to pay for infrastructure legislation.

Democrats and Republicans both say they want to narrow the gap between taxes paid and the amount owed, suggesting that going after tax cheats could garner bipartisan support as a potential revenue stream.

The Hill article went on to report:

Biden has called for providing the IRS with an additional $80 billion over the next decade to ramp up enforcement, update technology and improve customer service at the agency. He has also proposed requiring banks to include new info on account activity in annual reports to the IRS so that the agency can better target its audits.

The administration estimated that its proposals would lead to a net gain of $700 billion over 10 years.

“A robust and sustained investment in the IRS is necessary to ensure it can do its job of administering a fair and effective tax system,” the Treasury Department said in a fact sheet about Biden’s proposal late last month.

Biden said that he wants to beef up tax enforcement as a way to offset the cost of his $4.1 trillion infrastructure and social spending proposals, with other funding coming from higher taxes on the wealthy and corporations.

So, the same Biden administration now seeks $80 billion to ramp up the enforcement of our nation’s tax laws against Americans continues to make an abject mockery of border security and the enforcement of our immigration laws.  Biden’s succession of Executive Orders that have hamstrung both the Border Patrol and ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) from securing our borders and enforcing our immigration laws, has induced and encouraged the largest influx of “undocumented” aliens in history!

Let me be clear, anyone who violates any of our nation’s laws, including our tax laws, should be found and prosecuted.  But the dangerous message that is currently being sent around the world when it is clear that the federal government is determined to enforce one set of laws while aiding and abetting the violations of other laws- particularly the laws that foreign nationals are most likely to encounter when they seek to enter the United States?

The Oaths of Office that are administered to members of our armed forces, to our law enforcement officers and our elected politicians call for all to defend the Constitution in its entirety and enforce all of our laws, not just the provision of the Constitution we like or the laws we agree with.

Nevertheless, far too many politicians, on all levels of government, have come to treat our Constitution and our laws like items on a restaurant’s menu, arbitrarily and capriciously deciding which laws should be enforced and which laws they will blatantly ignore and perhaps. even obstruct, not unlike the way that patrons of a restaurant decide which items on the menu they want to order and which items they will not order, ordering the salad while rejecting the soup of the day.

Our immigration laws are the prime example of laws that are being rejected by increasing numbers of cities and states around the United States and, most disturbingly, by the Biden administration, in apparent violation of a section of law I noted previously, Title 8, U.S.C. § 1324 which begins with the following paragraph:

Title 8, U.S.C. § 1324(a) defines several distinct offenses related to aliens. Subsection 1324(a)(1)(i)-(v) prohibits alien smuggling, domestic transportation of unauthorized aliens, concealing or harboring unauthorized aliens, encouraging or inducing unauthorized aliens to enter the United States, and engaging in a conspiracy or aiding and abetting any of the preceding acts. Subsection 1324(a)(2) prohibits bringing or attempting to bring unauthorized aliens to the United States in any manner whatsoever, even at a designated port of entry. Subsection 1324(a)(3).

Additionally it would appear that these actions also violate Article IV Section 4 of the Constitution of the United States which states:

“The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government, and shall protect each of them against invasion; and on Application of the Legislature, or of the Executive (when the Legislature cannot be convened) against domestic Violence.”

My concerns have only increased and, indeed increased exponentially, in the wake of the terror attacks of September 11, 2001 and following a succession of other terror attacks by other international terrorists.

My concerns about the nexus between immigration failures and national security and the threat of terror attacks launched by radical Islamic terror organizations have increased drastically since Biden selected Alejandro Mayorkas (pictured above) to head up the DHS, as I noted in my article, Biden’s DHS: Department of Homeland Surrender.  As I noted in excerpt from my earlier article about Mr. Mayorkas:

On March 24, 2015 ABC News reported, “Top Homeland Official Alejandro Mayorkas Accused of Political Favoritism Alejandro Mayorkas oversaw controversial $500,000 visa program.”

The above-noted report was preceded by two ABC News reports that were published on February 3, 2015 which illustrate a clear nexus between these visas and national security:

“Whistleblowers: US Gave Visas to Suspected Forgers, Fraudsters, Criminals Internal documents show feds ignored warnings from FBI.”  This report began with this excerpt:

Officials overseeing a federal program that offers an immigration short-cut to wealthy foreign investors have ignored pointed warnings from federal agents and approved visas for some immigrants suspected of having committed fraud, money laundering, and even one applicant with alleged ties to a child porn website, an ABC News investigation has found. The shortcomings prompted concerns within the Department of Homeland Security that the boutique immigration program would be exploited by terrorists, according to internal documents obtained by ABC News.

“It is shocking,” said Sen. Charles Grassley, an Iowa Republican. “Particularly when you have F.B.I. and other law enforcement agencies that are saying national security could be compromised or is being compromised — that’s enough for us to be concerned.”

“Feds Investigating Iran Ties to Firm Involved in US Visa Program Documents: Iranian operatives may be abusing program to “infiltrate” U.S.”  This report began with these excerpt:

Federal agents in Los Angeles are investigating an L.A. shipping firm and its Iranian-born owner who for years have participated in and promoted an obscure U.S. immigration program — allowing the company to recruit wealthy foreign investors to receive visas and potentially Green Cards, law enforcement sources told ABC News.

The company’s name surfaced in a confidential Department of Homeland Security government document, which raised “concerns that this particular visa program may be abused by Iranian operatives to infiltrate the United States.”

Whistleblowers inside the federal agency that oversees the immigration program told ABC News they have been deeply frustrated by an inability to de-certify the company, even after they became aware of the investigation and saw the company’s name surface in an alarming internal Department Homeland Security memo. The memo, shared with ABC News, outlines concerns that Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have attempted to exploit the visa program “to infiltrate the United States.”

It would appear that cheating on immigration applications by committing immigration fraud, a major vulnerability that was identified by the 9/11 Commission as the key method of entry and embedding for international terrorists, is not an issue for Mayorkas, while tax cheats, on the other hand, had better watch out!

The fact that Mayorkas is the head of Biden’s DHS reminds me of an apt Yiddish saying that when translated states, “When the fish goes bad, it smells from the head”

©Michael Cutler. All rights reserved.

Dr. Ben Carson calls for revocation of Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) tax-exempt status

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140713-Ben-Carson-ftrThey demanded he drop out of the race. They’re a 501c3 organization, and such organizations are not supposed to intervene in campaigns either on behalf of or in opposition to a candidate. Clearly the gang of thugs at Hamas-linked CAIR, designated a terror organization by the United Arab Emirates, is in violation of the law here, but it is almost certain that Obama’s politicized Justice Department will take no action.

“Carson: Pro-Islam nonprofit broke the law with political attack,” by Bradford Richardson, The Hill, October 3, 2015:

Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson says a nonprofit Islamic advocacy group broke the law by calling for him to drop out of the presidential race.

“The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) held a public press conference demanding that I withdraw from the presidential race,” Carson said in an email to supporters Saturday.

“Here’s the catch – CAIR is a tax-exempt nonprofit, and the IRS rules explicitly prohibit such groups from intervening in political campaigns on behalf of – or in opposition to – a candidate,” the email continues.

Carson said he is demanding the IRS take action against the group and started an online petition to remove CAIR’s tax-exempt status.

A spokesman for CAIR called for Carson to drop out of the presidential race after the GOP candidate said a Muslim should not be elected president.

CAIR is a 501(c)(3) group with tax-exempt status, according to the group’s website.

The group previously lost its tax-exempt status in 2011 for not filing tax returns for three years in a row, but regained it the next year.

“We find it interesting that Dr. Carson seeks to use a federal government agency to silence his critics and wonder if that tactic would be used to suppress First Amendment freedoms should he become president,” CAIR said in response to Carson.

“CAIR is not in violation of any IRS regulation in that we did not ‘participate in’ or ‘intervene in’ any political campaign. We, as mandated by our mission as a civil rights organization, merely expressed the opinion of our community that a candidate whose views violate Article VI of the Constitution is unfit for public office.”…

RELATED ARTICLES:

Swedish bishop wants to remove crosses from church and mark direction of Mecca to make it more inviting for Muslims

Archbishop of Canterbury urges more interfaith dialogue to ease fears of Muslim community

Watch the IRS Rob and Extort a Convenience Store Owner

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The Institute for Justice reports on the strange, tragic case of Ken Quran:

Khalid “Ken” Quran moved to America in 1997, leaving behind a life as a fireman in a town ten miles north of Jerusalem, near Ramallah. Ken now lives in Greenville, N.C., with his wife, Dina, and their four kids.

Shortly after moving to this country, Ken purchased a small convenience store in Greenville, located on a dusty patch of land near the airport. Ken worked days and nights for years, often opening and closing the store, in order to build his business. He made a living selling goods at razor-thin margins and hardly ever taking a vacation.

Then, in June 2014, the government seized his entire bank account — more than $150,000. This was money that Ken worked for years to earn, and that he was counting on for his retirement. Ken had no prior warning before the government seized the account. The government told him they were taking the money because he withdrew cash from the bank in amounts under $10,000.

But the truly shocking thing is what happened next. A group of government agents — both from the IRS and local police — came to Ken’s store with an agreement already written up, under which Ken would agree to forever forfeit the money to the federal government.

The agents searched his store with dogs, barred the entrance to keep out customers, and then demanded that he sign the paper. Ken initially refused, explaining that he did not read English well and did not want to sign an agreement he could not understand.

Then, under compulsion — after one of the local police yelled and demanded that he sign, and after one of the IRS agents made clear that, otherwise, their next stop would be to talk to Ken’s wife to pressure her — Ken agreed to sign.

Sign the petition to get Ken’s money back! Learn more about Ken and others like him who have had their legal and hard-earned money taken away for no good reason — and what the Institute for Justice is doing to help them fight back.

By Anything Peaceful

Anything Peaceful is FEE’s new online ideas marketplace, hosting original and aggregate content from across the Web.

7 Things the Left Should Apologize For

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While attending a gathering of conservatives a few years ago in Washington, D.C., I was confronted by a far Left group conducting an amateur “ambush interview.” They demanded I opine on the comments of a number of 2012 Republican U.S. Senate candidates whom they found objectionable, and it was clear that they were seeking some sort of apology.

The Left loves to demand apologies from conservatives for grievances both real and imagined and, sadly, sometimes we play along with this ridiculous game.

The Left loves to demand apologies from conservatives for grievances both real and imagined and, sadly, sometimes we play along with this ridiculous game. I frequently wonder why conservatives don’t pay back the favor and demand apologies from the Left.

At the macro level, the Left should apologize to America for their continued allegiance to European-style welfare statism. At the micro level, they should apologize for their ongoing use of hateful division politics.

These two guiding ideologies of the Left have caused immeasurable poverty, misery and grief. Their intent to divide us is leading to concertina-wire-reinforced borders among the individual race, gender, and religious silos that they have chosen for us.

With the continued focus on the 2016 presidential elections we should start demanding apologies from the Left. Here are seven things the Left is largely responsible for which I’m demanding apologies before Election Day.

The death of four American patriots in Benghazi and the disgusting lies told to the families of the deceased…

  1. Sanctuary cities and the murder of Kate Steinle, by an illegal immigrant deported, an unforgivable five times.
  2. The ruthless political targeting of conservatives by the IRS to silence conservatives and advance the Left’s political agenda.
  3. The Obama economic “recovery,” where a tragic 1 in 5 Americans are now on some form of government welfare and over 90 million Americans are not working.
  4. The continuing destruction of the economies and education infrastructures of America’s once great inner cities by liberal governance.
  5. The massive health insurance premium hikes, outrageously high deductibles, and doctor and hospital restrictions imposed on middle class Americans by the disastrous Obamacare legislation.
  6. The death of four American patriots in Benghazi and the disgusting lies told to the families of the deceased, and to concerned American citizens, by the Obama administration afterwards.
  7. And, most importantly, the continued shredding of our Constitutional Republic, and what little faith we had left in our government.

Demand an apology from the Left for this, America deserves it.

EDITORS NOTE: This column originally appeared in the Conservative Review. The featured image of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton testifying before Congress on Benghazi is courtesy by Bill Clark Roll Call CQ | AP Photo.

Real Hero Joe Louis: A Fighter on Many Fronts by Lawrence W. Reed

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If you remember the famous 1938 fight for the world heavyweight boxing title between Detroit’s Joe Louis and Germany’s Max Schmeling, you’ve been around awhile. If you don’t, there’s a good chance you’ve heard about it from your father or grandfather. It was a rematch that Louis, known as the “Brown Bomber,” won in just 124 seconds.

Joe Louis was a hero not only for who and what he fought and beat but also for maintaining his integrity along the way. He dealt personally with poverty and racism. He overcame a speech impediment and the loss of his father at an early age. He took on the best boxers of his day. He battled the Nazis. He crossed swords with the Internal Revenue Service. When he died at age 66 in 1981, he was widely revered as a champion of character and was beloved by good people of every color.

The grandson of slaves, Joe Louis Barrow was born in 1914 in Lafayette, Alabama. He barely spoke until he was in the second grade. At age 12, he moved with his mother, his stepdad, and his seven siblings to Detroit after a scare from the Ku Klux Klan. To his credit, Joe never viewed the racism of a few as indicative of the many. He judged men and women the way he wanted them to judge him: namely, by what Martin Luther King would call “the content of their character.” In spite of his mother’s desire that he pursue either cabinetmaking or the violin, he showed an early penchant for pugilism. He dropped “Barrow” and became simply “Joe Louis” when he started competing in the ring as a teenager, apparently because he didn’t want his mom to know he was boxing. She soon found out, as did the rest of the world.

Louis judged men and women the way he wanted them to judge him.

The Great Depression was in full swing when Louis fought the first big match of his amateur career in 1932. He lost to a future Olympian. Undaunted, he went on to win all but 3 of his next 53 fights (43 were knockouts) and caught the attention of boxing promoters. He went pro in 1934.

One of the most famous dates in boxing history is June 22, 1937. That’s when Louis went up against heavyweight titleholder James Braddock, knocking him out in the eighth round. Americans black and white stayed up all night across the country in celebration, but the joy was especially high in black communities. Here’s how author Langston Hughes described it:

Each time Joe Louis won a fight in those depression years, even before he became champion, thousands of black Americans on relief or W.P.A. and poor, would throng out into the streets all across the land to march and cheer and yell and cry because of Joe’s one-man triumphs. No one else in the United States has ever had such an effect on Negro emotions — or on mine. I marched and cheered and yelled and cried, too.

Of 72 professional fights, Louis scored 57 knockouts and lost only three matches. For 12 years (1937–1949), he held the heavyweight championship. It was the longest stretch of winning titles in the sport’s history. His closely watched 1938 defeat of Max Schmeling embarrassed the Third Reich because it said to the world, “This Aryan superiority thing is nothing more than propaganda.”

A month after Pearl Harbor, Louis enlisted in the US Army and went off for basic training to a segregated cavalry unit at Fort Riley, Kansas. The army used him to cheer up the troops by sending him some 20,000 miles for 96 boxing matches in front of two million soldiers. He was eventually given the Legion of Merit for his “incalculable contribution to the general morale.” It was in the army that he befriended Jackie Robinson, the future major league baseball player. Louis persuaded a commanding officer to drop charges against Robinson for punching out a fellow soldier who called him the N-word.

Nobody who ever really knew Joe Louis, it seems, had an unkind word for him. Perhaps the worst ever said was actually spoken in jest, by fellow boxer Max Baer: “I define fear as standing across the ring from Joe Louis and knowing he wants to go home early.”

A very different fight that Louis waged is less well known than his boxing. It was with the Internal Revenue Service. As we do in our day, Louis had to contend in his with a president whose fingers itched to get into the pockets of wealthy Americans. I first learned of this story from historian Burton Folsom, author of the superb book New Deal or Raw Deal?

In 1935, President Roosevelt pushed Congress to raise the top income tax rate to 79 percent, then later to 90 percent during and after World War II. In the war years, Joe Louis donated money to military charities, but the complicated tax laws wouldn’t allow him to deduct those gifts. Although Louis saw almost none of the money he won in charity fights, the IRS credited the full amounts as taxable income paid to Louis. He had even voluntarily paid back to the city of Detroit all the money he and his family had received in welfare years before, but that counted for nothing with the feds.

Louis retired as heavyweight champion in 1949, but his tax debt was approaching $500,000. After an IRS ruling in 1950, the debt began accumulating interest each year. Louis felt compelled to come out of retirement in 1950 to fight Ezzard Charles, the new champion. After the fight, his mother begged him to stop but, he said, “she couldn’t understand how much money I owed…. The government wanted their money, and I had to try to get it to them.”

The next year, Louis fought Rocky Marciano and lost. The fight earned him $300,000. With a 90 percent tax rate on high incomes, what he had left was peanuts, but he gave it all to the government. When his mother died in 1953, the IRS swiped the $667 she left him in her will. With interest compounding, his debt by 1960 had soared to more than $1 million.

According to Folsom, “Louis refereed wrestling matches, made guest appearances on quiz shows and served as a greeter at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas — anything to bring in money” for the IRS.

The notorious mobster Frank Lucas (still living today at 85) was so disgusted with the IRS’s treatment of Louis that he once paid a $50,000 tax lien against the boxer. Even Max Schmeling came to the rescue, assisting with money when Louis was alive and then paying funeral expenses when the boxer died in 1981.

You may not think of Louis in connection with the game of golf, but he made an impact there as well. Golf was his longtime, personal hobby. In 1952, he became the first black American to play at a PGA Tour event. Just as Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in baseball, Joe Louis broke it in golf. He cofounded The First Tee, a charity that introduces golf to underprivileged children. Today, his 68-year-old son, Joe Louis Barrow Jr., is the organization’s CEO.

Joe Louis, a decorated army veteran and world-class athlete, remained a symbol of black achievement in spite of his tax troubles, which finally came to an end when the IRS settled and the US government — to which he had given so much — finally got off his back.

When Louis died, President Reagan waived the rules to allow him to be buried in Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors. He was a man who fought on many fronts and emerged as a great example every time.

For further information, see:

Lawrence W. Reed

Lawrence W. (“Larry”) Reed became president of FEE in 2008 after serving as chairman of its board of trustees in the 1990s and both writing and speaking for FEE since the late 1970s.

EDITORS NOTE: Each week, Mr. Reed will relate the stories of people whose choices and actions make them heroes. See the table of contents for previous installments.

D.C. Court Affirms pro-Israel Z Street Case against IRS

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Today, the DC Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of pro-Israel group Z STREET on the grounds of viewpoint discrimination by the IRS violating the First Amendment.  The Opinion of the DC Circuit Court clears the way for Z STREET to proceed with discovery in its case against the IRS.

The Power Line Blog noted these comments of Z STREET:

Z STREET looks forward to the discovery phase of litigation in which it will seek to learn the nature and origin of the “Israel Special Policy” which the IRS applied to Z STREET’s tax exemption application. Z STREET will seek to learn how such a policy was created, who created it, who approved it, to whom it was applied, as well as all other information regarding this policy.

A series of IRS documents called “Be On the LookOut” lists, which were released by Congress in June, 2013, pursuant to the TIGTA investigation, have already established that, as Z STREET alleges, while Z STREET’s application for tax exempt status was pending, the IRS did indeed create a special category of review for organizations seeking such status, if they were engaged in what the IRS called “occupied territory advocacy.”

Z STREET looks forward to using the discovery process to learn more about the precise nature, origin and effect of this policy, which the DC Circuit has now made clear is a violation of essential Constitutional rights.

In a May 7th , 2015  Iconoclast post on the arguments before the DC Circuit, it was clear that the Circuit Judges were displeased with brief filed by the IRS Counsel.   We wrote about the background for today’s important ruling:

It’s hard enough being a Zionist in the US, given a passive Jewish community supine under the sway of Obama Administration isolating Israel. Z STREET, where I am a member of its board, has fought a special process by the IRS sidelining its application for 501 ( c) (3) status because- get this- it advocates for an ally where terrorism occurs against it. Call that ultimate chutzpah, and you might come close it what it is.   That is absurd. However, that is at the heart of the viewpoint discrimination issue under the First Amendment successfully argued in the filing made by Z STREET’s counsel. The IRS had unsuccessfully fought in the DC Federal District court to dismiss the Z STREET case  in  May 2014. The lower Court  granted  discovery to Z STREET on the grounds of viewpoint discrimination.  The  IRS appeal  of the lower court ruling granting discovery was heard at a D.C.  Circuit Court  of Appeals  oral arguments proceeding  on May 4, 2015.  The three judge Appellate panel virtually raked over the coals the IRS counsel and leadership of the federal tax agency, several  of whom were in court witnessing  their upbraiding .    A May 7, 2015  Wall Street Journal  editorial lambasted the IRS and  the Justice Department for violating the First Amendment rights of Z STREET , “The IRS Goes to Court”.  The tag line says it all: “The agency suggests it can discriminate for 270 days. Judges gasp.”

In an opinion filed today on the matter of Z Street v Koskinen. Commissioner of Internal Revenue Service, DC Circuit Judge David Tatel affirmed the arguments presented by  Z Street’s  Counsel,  Jerome Marcus.  Below is  a summary of  the Opinion filed by Judge Tatel:

USCA Case #15-5010 Document #1558566    6-19-2015

Before: GARLAND, Chief Judge, TATEL, Circuit Judge, and SENTELLE, Senior Circuit Judge.

Opinion for the Court filed by

Circuit Judge TATEL:

Z Street, a nonprofit organization devoted to educating the public about Zionism” and “the facts relating to the Middle East,”applied for a section 501 (c )(3) tax exemption. Based on a conversation its lawyer had with an IRS agent, Z Street alleges that the agency has an “Israel Special Policy” under which applications from  organizations holding “political views inconsistent with those espoused by the Obama administration” receive increased “scrutiny[y]” that results in such applications “tak[ing] longer to process than those made by organizations without that characteristic”.

”Z Street sued the Commissioner, alleging that the “Israel Special Policy” violates the First Amendment. The Commissioner moved to dismiss, arguing that the action is barred by the Anti Injunction Act, which prohibits suits to “restrain[] the assessment or collection of any tax.” The district court, assuming the truth of Z Street’s allegations—as it must at this stage of the litigation—denied the motion explaining that Z Street was not seeking to restrain the “assessment or collection” of a tax, but rather to prevent the IRS from delaying consideration of its application in violation of the First Amendment. We affirm.

Consider this the lengths to which the Administration will go to deny pro-Zionist views  opposing groups like J Street , Jewish Voices for Peace, Peace Now; all with IRC 501 (c ) (3)  tax exemptions. The irony is that these groups are pursuing BDS, delegitimization and demonization of the Jewish nation of Israel, America’s only democratic ally in the Middle East.

EDITORS NOTE: This column originally appeared in the New English Review.

Did the IRS Break the Law by Outsourcing an Audit to a High-Priced Law Firm?

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By outsourcing an audit to a high-priced law firm, the IRS might have broken the law, and the Senate Finance Committee Chairman wants to know why.

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) wrote a scathing letter to IRS Commissioner John Koskinen asking why his agency hired the “law firm of Quinn Emanuel on a $2.2 million contract” to assist in auditing Microsoft. “This contract marks the first time, to the Committee’s knowledge, that the agency has hired a private contractor to take such an involved role in an examination.”

Hatch is also asking why the IRS “issued a temporary regulation, without a notice and comment period” allowing the firm to “take compulsory, sworn testimony” weeks after it hired the firm.

Sen. Hatch has three problems with what the IRS has done.

Action Defies Will of Congress

First by hiring the firm, Sen. Hatch believes the IRS has stepped outside the law. In writing the tax code, “the Congress intentionally chose to restrict the performance of certain revenue functions, such as examinations and the taking of sworn testimony, to the Secretary and limited delegates,” Sen. Hatch writes. This doesn’t include hiring a law firm for $1,000 per hour.

Doesn’t Protect Taxpayers

Second, letting an outside law firm investigate a tax case doesn’t protect taxpayers:

Unlike private contractors, Treasury Department officials are required to swear an oath to the Constitution and are subject to rules of conduct and federal law regulating their interactions with taxpayers. This is one of the core reasons Congress has sought to limit certain examination actions to these officials, who are accountable to the public and for whom there is a clear chain of command.

The IRS Has the Resources to Investigate

Third, Sen. Hatch questions if the IRS is using its resources properly:

The IRS has over 40,000 employees dedicated to enforcement efforts, including more than 36,000 tasked specifically with exams and collections. If none of these employees, nor IRS Office of Chief Counsel or Department of Justice tax attorneys, have sufficient expertise to undertake the examination at hand, we should have a broader conversation about your agency’s hiring practices and recruitment needs.

What Kind of Law Firm is Quinn Emanuel?

On the “About Us” page of its website, Quinn Emanuel crows, “Litigation is a zero sum game. There is a winner and a loser. We know how to win.” The page also features a quote about the firm from The American Lawyer: “Better. Faster. Tougher. Scarier.”

Sleep well, America, the IRS gave some pit bull plaintiff lawyers the power to “take compulsory, sworn testimony.”

In Fiscal Year 2014, Congress gave the IRS over $11 billion. If it thinks one particular investigation is that important, it should dedicate enough internal resources. What the IRS can’t do is act like it’s above the law.

Sen. Hatch is demanding that Quinn Emanuel stop its investigation and that the IRS answer his questions immediately.

EDITORS NOTE: The featured image of the Internal Revenue Service headquarters in Washington, D.C. Photo credit: Dennis Brack/Bloomberg.

Tax “Refunds”: Your Interest-Free Loan to the Government

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What that check really means by DANIEL BIER.

It’s April, which means that most people will soon be getting checks from the government for overpaying on their taxes. It feels good to get a big chunk of money — especially since it was yours to begin with — but that tax “refund” cost you more than you realize.

Getting a refund means that, throughout the year, the IRS took more of your income than the law allows, and after you file your tax return, they have to give it back. But losing that money for months and months cost you something — goods and services you were not able to buy (and hence benefit from), investments you didn’t make, debt you didn’t pay down, savings you did not accumulate, etc.

A tax refund is, in essence, an interest-free loan from you to the government. Over at FiveThirtyEight, Ben Casselman and Reuben Fischer-Baum show you just how much that loan cost you.

More than three in four taxpayers get refunds, and the average amount they get back is close to $3,000, according to IRS data. That means that for many Americans, their annual refund is the biggest single check they’ll get all year.

What could you have done with that $3,000? Interest rates are very low for savings accounts right now, so that wouldn’t get you much, but if you had invested it in stocks (say, an index fund for the S&P 500), it would have earned you an extra $239.

The stock market can be risky, but the great thing about money is that you can do lots of things with it. Casselman and Fischer-Baum calculate:

Nearly 40 percent of American households carry a credit card balance, and those loans carry high interest rates. . . If instead of getting a $3,000 refund come April, you’d been able to pay off $250 in credit card debt each month (or put $250 a month less on your card), you would have avoided more than $300 in interest expenses by Tax Day.

And then there’s the cost of just not being able to buy things you need when you need them: a car, appliances, or whatever else you had to delay purchasing because the government “borrowed” your income. You missed out on the benefits those goods would have provided. Even if you have zero net tax liability at the end of the year and get all your money back, you’ll still be paying this cost.

People aren’t necessarily being stupid about their taxes, though. The tax code is so intricate and so complex that it can be impossible to predict what you’ll owe, and if you underpay, God help you, the IRS will charge you interest, as well as possible fines and fees.

The tax withholding system is designed to encourage taxpayers to overpay. It’s a sneaky, invisible tax levied on those without the financial savvy or expert advice to avoid it. And, as Don Boudreaux has pointed out in the past, it is a costly and regressive system that disproportionately hurts people who get income from wages versus those (mostly rich people) who get income from non-wage sources, like capital gains.

It’s nice to get your money back — but don’t forget, “refunds” aren’t free money.

Check out FiveThirtyEight’s calculator to see how much your interest-free loan to Uncle Sam cost you this year.

Daniel Bier
Daniel Bier is the editor of Anything Peaceful. He writes on issues relating to science, civil liberties, and economic freedom.