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IRS Commissioner John Koskinen, infamous for his defiant congressional testimony about the inappropriate targeting of conservative tea party groups, is warning that budget cuts to the agency will cause delayed refunds, more identity theft, long wait times for help and a possible shut down of the agency ... Koskinen doesn't mention the extra hell Obamacare rules are putting tax filers through this year... Maybe Koskinen should ask IRS employees who owe back taxes to pay up in order to help fill the gap. Or how about avoiding handing out bonuses worth millions to employees who owe back taxes to the...

Those Americans who didn’t get health insurance last year could be in for a rude awakening when the IRS asks them to fork over their Obamacare penalty — and it could be a lot more than the $95 many of them may be expecting. The Affordable Care Act requires those who didn’t have insurance last year and didn’t qualify for one of the exemptions to pay a tax penalty, which was widely cited as $95 the first year. But the $95 is actually a minimum, and middle- and upper-income families will actually end up paying 1 percent of their household...

 SEE: Cruz: Abolish the IRS January 13th , 2015 ”Republican Sen. Ted Cruz said Monday that Republicans should take advantage of their control of Congress to abolish the Internal Revenue Service. “We need to pass fundamental tax reform making our tax code simpler, flatter, fairer,” he said Monday at Heritage Action’s 2015 conservative policy summit. ”And I’ll tell you, the single most important tax reform, we should abolish the IRS.” What is discouraging is, the above article goes on to say that Senator Ted Cruz ”… acknowledged it’s not really possible to abolish the IRS or adopt a flat tax...

Do you have people – as in, more than one – working for you? If so, you’re probably knee deep in preparing Forms W-2 for your employees before the January 31st deadline. Well, what if I told you that when you send in those forms, unless you’re aware of an under-publicized change to the insurance and tax laws that took place on January 1, 2014, you might be exposing yourself to tens or even hundreds, of thousands of dollars in penalties? And what if I told you that even if reading this column makes you aware of the required change,...

Tax Reform: Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, a possible Republican presidential candidate in 2016, might have hit on the most important fiscal issue facing the U.S.: the need for major tax reform. But he takes it a step further. Speaking Monday, the senator from Texas threw another thunderbolt: Republicans should use their control of Congress to get rid of the Internal Revenue Service. "We need to pass fundamental tax reform making our tax code simpler, flatter, fairer," he told a crowd at a Heritage Foundation event. "And I'll tell you, the single most important tax reform, we should abolish the IRS."...

As Stephen Moore at Fox News reports, the IRS has some big changes planned for for you in 2015. They’re finally going to eliminate all the scandals and abuse and become more accountable to the public! Hurrah! No… I was just kidding. They’re going to be delivering even worse service than they already provide. Complaining about belt tightening budget cuts, this week IRS Commissioner John Koskinen lectured: “People who file paper tax returns could wait an extra week—or possibly longer—to see their refund. Taxpayers with errors or questions on their returns that require additional manual review will also face...

The Obamacare-IRS ScandalFrench Terror Attacks Tied To FBI Asset? New Docs: Top IRS official may have obstructed investigations into the IRS scandal The Obamacare-IRS Scandal There is a lawsuit that could bring President Obama’s federal healthcare crashing down under the weight of its own lawlessness. A few weeks ago, we filed anamicus brief in support of plaintiffs who are making the plain obvious point to the United States Supreme Court that President Obama (or any other president) should not be permitted to rewrite federal statues in brazen violation of the U.S. Constitution’s separation of powers. The plaintiffs in David King...

Barack Obama is one mean, vindictive bastard. There is no other way to put it. During the last government "shutdown" Obama blockaded the WWII memorial, which is normally is open and ungated. He spent money on personnel and materials to prevent WWII vets from gaining access to their own shrine. The vets requested access to the memorial but were refused by Obama and the Department of the Interior: The White House and the Department of the Interior rejected a request from Rep. Steven Palazzo’s office to have World War II veterans visit the World War II memorial in Washington, the...

Taxpayers could see delays in getting their refunds this year -- as well as "unacceptable" customer service -- as the IRS commissioner warns budget cuts are forcing the agency to cut back. IRS Commissioner John Koskinen: "The effect of these cuts will hurt taxpayers and our tax system," he wrote in an e-mail. He said the cuts could force the IRS to shut down operations for two days later this year, resulting in unpaid furloughs for employees and service cuts for taxpayers. "People who file paper tax returns could wait an extra week -- or possibly longer -- to see...

Federal employes will be given at least six weeks of paid leave to care for new children under plans unveiled by the White House to kick-start legislative efforts to close the gap in family benefits offered by the US and other wealthy countries. Democrats have been pushing for better maternity and sick leave rights for over a decade in Congress with little success, but plans by Barack Obama to back the passage of a Healthy Families Act with the executive action for government workers and $2.2bn of new funding for state efforts would be the first time the president has...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Filing a federal tax return is about to get more complicated for millions of families because of President Barack Obama's health law. But they shouldn't expect much help from the Internal Revenue Service. Got a question for the IRS? Good luck reaching someone by phone. The tax agency says only half of the 100 million people expected to call this year will be able to reach a person. Callers who do get through may have to wait on hold for 30 minutes or more to talk to someone who will answer only the simplest questions. "Taxpayers who...

Another gun seller says his firearms business was forced to shut down its bank account as a result of the government’s secretive initiative known as Operation Choke Point. This time, he’s offering audio recordings to prove it. Mike Schuetz is a former state employee who worked as a probation and parole officer for eight years in Hawkins, Wis. After working for the state, he told Breitbart News that he decided to open a private investigation business and operate a gun store on the side. His store, Hawkins Guns LLC, sells both firearms and ammunition. To manage his finances, Schuetz set...

Docs: Ahead of 2012 Presidential Election Lois Lerner Begged Supervisor Not to Visit IRS Office Katie Pavlich | Jan 14, 2015 New emails obtained by Judicial Watch through a Freedom of Information Act Lawsuit show former IRS official Lois Lerner begged her supervisor not to visit the Cincinnati office or ask specific questions related to Congressional inquiries into whether the agency was improperly targeting conservative groups just ahead of the 2012 presidential election. As a reminder, it wasn't until May 2013 when Lerner admitted inappropriate targeting had occurred and plead the Fifth in front of the House Oversight Committee. “Please don’t...

With a week to go before tax season opens, taxpayers were already bracing for a potentially “miserable” filing season. It turns out that it could live up to the hype. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Commissioner Koskinen has advised employees that the budget cuts will result in reduced services to taxpayers. In an email to employees sent earlier today, Commissioner Koskinen advised that “realistically we have no choice but to do less with less.” What does that mean for taxpayers? * Identity theft could increase. Despite the need for increased taxpayer protections against identity theft, the implementation of additional measures will...

Coming this tax season from the IRS: More identity-theft risk, longer hold times and refund checks that take a WEEK longer to arrive The IRS, long Americans' least-favorite government agency, is likely to be a lot less popular this tax season - refunds will be slower, the risk of identity theft will be higher and there will be longer hold times to reach customer service. By some estimates, fewer than half of the taxpayers who call the IRS will be able to speak to a representative. IRS Commissioner John Koskinen revealed to the changes to employees in a memo -...

Taxes: Democrats unveiled a plan Monday that — surprise — would boost taxes on the rich. But new IRS data show these soak-the-rich campaigns are based on total falsehoods. 'Our tax code today is stacked in favor of people who make money off of money and against those who make money off of hard work," Rep. Chris Van Hollen, the top Democrat on the Budget Committee, said Monday. The plan he announced — which to be sure has no chance of being enacted — would boost taxes on the top 1% and hand out checks to the middle class each...

The Justice Department has been, to say no more, unhelpful regarding attempts to fully investigate and properly punish the politicization and corruption of the Internal Revenue Service. Given the department’s seeming complicity in the coverup, would it not be appropriate to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the IRS practice of suppressing the political activity of conservative groups? Civil forfeiture — the seizure of property suspected of being produced by, or involved with, crime — has become a lucrative business for lawless law enforcement. Civil forfeiture treats citizens worse than criminals, seizing the property of people neither convicted of nor...

Deluged with catastrophes, court challenges and criticism, Obamacare (ACA) has had a controversial life to date. Yet it is ready to enter a completely new phase where the implementation gets shifted to the Internal Revenue Service – America’s favorite three words. If you liked the health care plan up to now, you ain’t seen nothing yet. 2010 was actually the first year that the IRS was involved in Obamacare enforcement. The Small Business Health Care Tax Credit went into effect with this filing year. You may remember I wrote that there was mass resistance to this credit by the tax-preparer...

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: Lots to do here on Open Line Friday, Rush Limbaugh. Determined to be in a good mood, folks. Determined to be happy. Determined to do everything I can to enjoy life. And if that makes some of you think I'm out of touch, so be it. I've been dealing with that complaint for 27 years. Over and over again I've heard that, "You're out of touch, Rush, you're losing touch with what it's like to really be in America." No, I'm not. Never have lost touch, never will lose touch. But it doesn't mean that you can't...

ObamaCare was supposed to keep the nation healthier by expanding access to insurance. Instead, it will keep the professional tax preparation industry healthy by making the tax code even more hopelessly complex. As health care analyst Bob Laszewski points out on his widely read blog, the IRS came out with a 21-page booklet explaining what ObamaCare will mean to tax filers this year. In addition, there's a 12-page publication with instructions on how to claim an exemption from the individual mandate (there are 19 options listed), along with instructions on how to calculate the "shared responsibility payment" for those irresponsible...