So what exactly does the IRS do?

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infinity ag
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5:46p, 11/13/24
They don't decide the tax rules. I think all they do is take in tax returns, review to make sure it is good and then send you back your refund if needed.
If you are a tax evader, is it the IRS job to go after you?

If all they do is review taxes and do refund work, should this department be on the chopping block? Computers and AI can handle these mundane tasks very well and hand off to another enforcing department.
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One Louder
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5:49p, 11/13/24
AG
Not to mention each time you call them with a question, you get a different answer depending on whom you speak with.
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deddog
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5:51p, 11/13/24
AG
Penalize you if you didn't pay the right amount.

Well if you knew the right amount, why the **** didn't you tell me in the first place?
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Fightin_Aggie
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5:51p, 11/13/24
AG
They are a pain in the ass
The world needs mean tweets

My Pronouns Ultra and MAGA

Trump 2024
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Gaeilge
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5:52p, 11/13/24
It should be the first project for DOGE
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Fightin_Aggie
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In reply to deddog • 5:55p, 11/13/24
AG
deddog said:
Penalize you if you didn't pay the right amount.

Well if you knew the right amount, why the **** didn't you tell me in the first place?


Penalize and try to tax the **** out of you for not filing the right form

Then make you fight with them for a year only to owe them one extra dollar

From personal experience
The world needs mean tweets

My Pronouns Ultra and MAGA

Trump 2024
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rgag12
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5:55p, 11/13/24
AG
"They don't decide the tax rules"

That's literally what they do. Go look at any regulation, revenue ruling, private letter ruling, etc.

They don't make tax laws.
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infinity ag
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In reply to deddog • 5:57p, 11/13/24
deddog said:
Penalize you if you didn't pay the right amount.

Well if you knew the right amount, why the **** didn't you tell me in the first place?

I always wondered the same thing....
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infinity ag
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In reply to rgag12 • 5:58p, 11/13/24
rgag12 said:
"They don't decide the tax rules"

That's literally what they do. Go look at any regulation, revenue ruling, private letter ruling, etc.

They don't make tax laws.

Isn't it Congress that decides tax laws?
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Sid Farkas
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6:00p, 11/13/24
AG
I overpaid last year. They sent me a modest refund and charged me $395 for the mistake.
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Burdizzo
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6:03p, 11/13/24
AG
What does the IRS do?
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uneedastraw
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6:03p, 11/13/24
They are basically debt collectors as a primary responsibility.

If you've ever dealt with them, you know the system is chaotic.

Very long story that I won't go into all details. To summarize, 5 years after filing, was notified I didn't file and I owed $160k. Knew I filed but I had moved and destroyed documents, changed banks, etc. A few panic attacks later and begging the bank to go back 5 years on the phone, I found the payment. However, that triggered issues with my next years return which I had made a mistake on as we moved and I screwed up.

Corrected everything and sent a check for $40k (after a lot of penalties and interest). They denied it and adjusted it from $160k to $75k. So I had to take out ridiculous personal loans to cover even though I knew it was incorrect. Paid it and just moved on (broke).

3 years later I receive a refund for $33k…no explanation just a refund with about $200 of interest (to which I had to report as freaking taxable income).

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UrbanDecay
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6:03p, 11/13/24
AG
In my lifetime the IRS has been used to go after political enemies.
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rgag12
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In reply to infinity ag • 6:05p, 11/13/24
AG
infinity ag said:
rgag12 said:
"They don't decide the tax rules"

That's literally what they do. Go look at any regulation, revenue ruling, private letter ruling, etc.

They don't make tax laws.

Isn't it Congress that decides tax laws?


Yes, Congress makes laws. Usually the law is 1 to 3 sentences long. The IRS fleshes it out (i.e. makes the "rules") so it's applicable to our practical world and so people don't abuse the heck out of the law.
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Ag83
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6:08p, 11/13/24
AG
Terrorize the citizenry
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IIIHorn
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6:18p, 11/13/24
There are only three kinds of people in this world:

Those who can count and those who cannot.


( ...voice punctuated with a clap of distant thunder... )
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TyHolden
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8:08p, 11/13/24
AG
Taxes aren't due until February
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Gilligan
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In reply to TyHolden • 8:11p, 11/13/24
AG
TyHolden said:
Taxes aren't due until February


Not for some of us…
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TyHolden
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In reply to Gilligan • 8:12p, 11/13/24
AG
Gilligan said:
TyHolden said:
Taxes aren't due until February


Not for some of us…

Just the paperwork. I already made my first offer. They always counter though.
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torrid
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In reply to One Louder • 8:13p, 11/13/24
AG
One Louder said:
Not to mention each time you call them with a question, you get a different answer depending on whom you speak with.
If you're lucky enough to get a person to speak with.
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Psycho Bunny
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8:14p, 11/13/24
The voices in my head are fighting, one of my imaginary friends is running with scissors and 2 of my personalities have escaped.
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Buck Turgidson
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8:14p, 11/13/24
Right now they are trying to steal more money from my parents estate. Money my parents amassed over a lifetime, paid income taxes on, then paid capital gains taxes on. Now that they're gone and can't defend themselves, the government thinks they should be able to confiscate it rather than it go to the intended heirs. This is after they tried to question the final income tax return for my mother which was filed after she passed. That's right - you pay income tax after you die. Then what's left over is subject to estate tax. Thats what the IRS does. Evil mother****ers.
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HillCountry15
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8:21p, 11/13/24
I used to consider the IRS as a "necessary evil" until a little over a year ago. Then they hit my family's business with a random audit. The agent they sent to perform the audit had about as much brains as the village idiot, and even that's a stretch. We had to print literally thousands of pages of business reports, then the agent would ask "what does this report mean?" Or "what is this report for?" YOU'RE THE ONE THAT ASKED FOR THE REPORTS!!!!! What do you mean you don't know what it's for or what it means?!
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MarkTwain
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8:24p, 11/13/24
Flat tax everyone and the tax rules fit on a postcard
“Never argue with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience" - Mark Twain
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Tex100
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In reply to infinity ag • 8:44p, 11/13/24
AG
infinity ag said:
rgag12 said:
"They don't decide the tax rules"

That's literally what they do. Go look at any regulation, revenue ruling, private letter ruling, etc.

They don't make tax laws.

Isn't it Congress that decides tax laws?


Some sections of the tax code specifically state the irs will write regulations for that code section. Those are legislative regulations and are considered as part of the code. In other cases they write interpretive regulations that interpret the code as the irs sees it. You are still bound to follow their rules or explain why you didn't.
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FbgTxAg
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8:49p, 11/13/24
AG
The IRS needs to be sunset.

Clean up/Simplify the tax code. Use AI to send you a tax bill at the end of the year, and how it came to that calculation. Pay that amount, or protest.

Protest would then be like how you actually file taxes now.

Gut that department of 95% of the pencil-pushing terrorists and keep working to find alternative ways to find this F'd up government.
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EskimoJoe
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In reply to MarkTwain • 8:52p, 11/13/24
MarkTwain said:
Flat tax everyone and the tax rules fit on a postcard


And the entire IRS can fit in a post office.
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Fightin_Aggie
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In reply to FbgTxAg • 8:53p, 11/13/24
AG
FbgTxAg said:
The IRS needs to be sunset.

Clean up/Simplify the tax code. Use AI to send you a tax bill at the end of the year, and how it came to that calculation. Pay that amount, or protest.

Protest would then be like how you actually file taxes now.

Gut that department of 95% of the pencil-pushing terrorists and keep working to find alternative ways to find this F'd up government.


Having the government tell me what my taxes are seems like a terrible idea
The world needs mean tweets

My Pronouns Ultra and MAGA

Trump 2024
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FbgTxAg
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In reply to Fightin_Aggie • 8:54p, 11/13/24
AG
You prefer the current system? Where they let you decide and then if your wrong they come after you?
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DoitBest
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In reply to Psycho Bunny • 8:58p, 11/13/24
S
Psycho Bunny said:


Well played Bunny....Well played..
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HillCountry15
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In reply to Fightin_Aggie • 9:00p, 11/13/24
Fightin_Aggie said:
FbgTxAg said:
The IRS needs to be sunset.

Clean up/Simplify the tax code. Use AI to send you a tax bill at the end of the year, and how it came to that calculation. Pay that amount, or protest.

Protest would then be like how you actually file taxes now.

Gut that department of 95% of the pencil-pushing terrorists and keep working to find alternative ways to find this F'd up government.


Having the government tell me what my taxes are seems like a terrible idea
you think that's a worse option than "we know what you owe us. But we aren't going to tell you. You have to figure it out on your own. And if you're wrong in you're figuring, we're going to **** you over even worse"
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strbrst777
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9:04p, 11/13/24
Yes. the IRS makes rules, thousands of rules in the IRS Code. These rules and rulings are defacto laws. What's the practical difference?
Like many laws, Congress passes them and bureaucrats take it from there with regulations. IRS has employed many incompetents.
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Cibalo
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9:24p, 11/13/24
The Biden admin used them to go after various energy companies. Trying go find gotchas to get more money and penalized the companies. 100s of agents and 1000s of man hours to find nothing of substance.
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Old May Banker
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9:36p, 11/13/24
AG
Should be abolished and replaced with an 8-10% (absolute maximum) consumption tax.
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CountryManAG
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9:36p, 11/13/24
They are just a pain in the ass.
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