The New York Times finally got around to contacting the IRS about the IRS’s long-time practice of stealing money out of people’s bank accounts — people who have committed no crime.
This is part of the civil asset forfeiture program. The government agency — federal, state, or local — seizes your money. You are never prosecuted by the agency for having committed a crime. The agency keeps the money.
The Times reports:
Under the Bank Secrecy Act, banks and other financial institutions must report cash deposits greater than $10,000. But since many criminals are aware of that requirement, banks also are supposed to report any suspicious transactions, including deposit patterns below $10,000. Last year, banks filed more than 700,000 suspicious activity reports. Owners who are caught up in structuring cases often cannot afford to fight. The median amount seized by the I.R.S. was $34,000, according to the Institute for Justice analysis, while legal costs can easily mount to $20,000 or more.
Got that? Only $34,000. These are little people, not organized criminal syndicates. They can’t afford to fight back. The money is chump change. The government runs a $500 billion annual deficit, and the IRS is stealing $34,000 per heist. It’s just some agent meeting his quota. Little people get stung.
Why don’t the banks warn the depositors to stop this? Because it’s illegal for them to warn depositors.
Sweat deal for the IRS, right? It was for a long time.
At this point, an IRS official has decided to stop the practice. He will send a memo to this effect, he promises. From now on, people must be charged with a crime when the IRS seizes their money. But the IRS did not cease this practice until facing media exposure by the Times.
This is America, the land of the free. You read it in your government-run high school civics textbook.
I have been told several times over the last few years that civics is no longer a part of the curriculum for high school. Is this truly so? I would ask how anyone can expect to get qualified voters out of such a deficient education – but then we're about to mint some 30+ million unqualified voters who not only don't know what is in the Constitution, but don't even read English – So I think I know the answer to that question already.
"The government runs a $500 billion annual deficit, and the IRS is stealing $34,000 per heist."
This is what the government wants you to think. For fiscal year 2014, the CBO reported a deficit of $486 billion. That is the deficit that the government wants you to believe. The Treasury reports a federal debt of $16,747 billion as of 9-30-2013. This debt increased to $17,824 billion as of 9-30-2014. That is an increase of $1,077 billion in debt during FY 2014. The CBO tells us where $486 billion of this borrowing went. How was the other $590 billion of borrowing spent?
What happened to the days when an agency would investigate if they thought a crime had been committed. Precipitous actions such as this, beating up honest citizens just because you have the power, should make everyone wonder if the IRS has overstayed their welcome and should just be dismantled. A simpler tax system with a basic Department of Revenue to collect and nothing else would be welcome to almost everyone. See my blog at http://cranky-conservative.blogspot.com
ABOLISH THE IRS! KICK THE ASSES OUT OF CONGRESS THAT WON'T DO THIS-10% FLAT TAX IS ALL WE NEED TO RUN THIS COUNTRY-SCREW ANY POLITITION THAT DOSEN'T AGREE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So how did the bill of Attainder provision in Article one of the Constitution get ignored and all this allowed to happen? Also there is the provisions in Amendment 5 and 7. The Government in seizing money without a jury trial is simply unconstitutional. Why is it being allowed?
Who in hell does the IRS think they are robbing the American people of their hard working money, just go to the bank & remove OUR MONEY. ? NO way will that be tolerated, NOT for one second… all the Money they STOLE from the people should be returned to them… What a bunch of nervy crooks… America we MUST put a STOP to all this TAKEOVER of the CONSTITUTION, COUNTRY, MILITARY, FREEDOM, OUR LIVES ! Americans are FED UP, MAD AS HELL !
an IRS official has decided to stop this practice
And if you believe that, as the saying goes, I have a bridge for sale you might be interested in.
The IRS will stop this practice until the next time.