Posted on 01/17/2016 4:54:39 AM PST by Kaslin
I consistently state our government is too big and it cannot handle all the responsibilities it continues to take on itself. President Obama has stated we, the American citizens, keep asking the federal government to do more. Even if you believed that, he could Just Say No. After you read this you will understand why.
My friend Steve received a letter from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). It stated that the five-figure amount of money he had overpaid on his 2014 tax return and had asked to be applied to his 2015 return was being confiscated for child support payments in New York. Steve had grown up in New York, but had left there 40 years ago. Any children he had left behind (none were left) would be fully grown. His own children were born and raised in California where he is a resident.
Steve called me in a total and justifiable panic. Though he is also a CPA, he had no idea how he was going to get his money back. But it gets worse from here. As he tried to fight this he had ended up shutting down his business for the better part of a week.
His first call was to the IRS. If you have not called the IRS lately then you do not know it is a totally dysfunctional operation. You can barely get a person on the phone. Where I used to call, I mostly just send a FedEx letter today. The practitioner's hotline is still in existence, but completely useless as no one answers the line anymore. When Steve got through to the IRS they told him they could not do anything to stop the matter. He had to contact an entity he never knew existed - The Bureau of The Fiscal Service (BFS)
The BFS is an entity you should be aware of because they dispense all the checks for the federal government. It is a department of the U.S. Treasury. In 2012 it was formed by combining the Bureau of the Public Debt and Financial Management Services. They also make payments for state governments on collections of monies for delinquent child support. Steve was provided a number by the IRS for the Bureau and he was able to eventually speak to a person there. The person told Steve that the child support payments were tied to his social security number, but the name was not his. Despite that, the BFS would not stop the payment. The BFS informed him to contact the entity making the request for the money.
Steve then contacted the NY Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (NY OTDA) that handles these matters. He was told they have no claim under his name or his social security number nor that of his wife or ex-wife. They said he had to contact his local office. Steve was informed there were 62 such offices that he would have to contact to try and stop this fraudulent order to the BFS. NY OTDA told him his only recourse was a civil action in NY against the person receiving his money that they would not identify to him because that was protected information. Steve was now convinced his money was going out the door.
Steve went back to the BFS and informed them NY had no claim. The BFS said that the only way to stop the payment was to have the agency that was requesting it cancel it. They said they could not stop nor delay a claim.
So far there is the original sin - the IRS letter gave Steve no time to clear this matter. And now there is the second sin. Despite clear evidence from a reliable source that there was potential fraud, the BFS was unwilling or unable to stop the payment of the funds to a questionable source. Can you imagine calling your credit card company, telling them there was a questionable charge on your statement and being told "tough, just pay it, we cannot do anything"? The third sin, a citizen being told that he cannot stop an improper payment that one agency said they never requested and the other one saying they need an agency request to stop, but no one, yes no one, will pick up a phone and clear this up.
Steve and his wife had two remaining hopes. Steve knew me and his wife knew the District Director for their Congresswoman Karen Bass (D-CA). We both went to work. The BFS has direct lines for the media and Congress. I fought and got Marshall Kofler, manager of the media relations department. He assured me the BFS would help to remedy the situation. But I am betting that Maral Karaccusian and Claudia Aragon from Bass's office had more impact than I did. Miraculously, Steve received a check for the full amount of his overpayment.
This scary story of how the government can commandeer a citizen's money without proper controls staggers the mind. In my discussions with Mr. Kofler, he repeatedly stated that before any money is disbursed that the BFS receives a certification from the party requesting the payment.
These questions were posed:
1. Why once the employee knew there was discrepancy why did they not stop the process?
2. Since the State of NY had not requested the disbursement, who certified the request?
3. What procedures has the BFS established in the last five years to counter fraud? The IRS has nearly a million fraudulent claims annually, and the CIA and Defense Dept. have been hacked. How have you changed your procedures?
4. You require that the person whose money you are taking has been notified by the agency that is requesting the confiscation. Steve received no letters from the State of NY. What did you do to verify there were any sent and received?
Mr. Kofler has had no answer for any of these questions.
The bureau, which is responsible for making most of the payments of the United States government, apparently has out-of-date procedures and lacks adequate controls for disbursements in our modern society. They take orders from other entities that can take your money if you have an overpayment with the IRS and apply it to a claim without proper verification.
Steve was lucky and let's make it clear it was luck. But if something like this happened to you, you may not be so lucky. He lost a week of his life chasing this and had to cancel a vacation. I told you to sit down before you read this. It is just scary.
This story has nothing to do with Trump.
Quit making it about Trump. It is about the Obama administration.
Before I retired, every January I worked out an estimate of what my taxes would be for the year. I usually got back (from the Gov.’t) a check for $1.39, $2.00, etc. Now that I’m retired, I get big checks back because of all the rules, adjustments, etc. I don’t like it but as I said to my GF there is no way to estimate the adjustments, rules, etc.
I dealt with the Social Security Administration in 2014 regarding their form SSA-44 (Life Changing Event). The SSA employees intentionally used SSA procedures and rules to avoid processing the form. It took 4 months, 22 phone calls and 6 personal visits to get a simple form processed.
I was promised a call back at least 12 times and never got a call. A normal person in my position would have given up. The people at SSA simply didn’t want to process my form and I had no recourse.
Years ago I bought a new car. A State of Minnesota employee incorrectly recorded the car’s VIN from the manufacturer’s Certificate of Origin. It took me over 6 months to get the error corrected. The state wanted me to drive the car 150 miles to St. Paul to allow an employee there to verify the VIN on the car. After many months and many phone calls I was allowed to contact my local county sheriff’s office and have them verify the VIN.
The rules are written for the benefit of bureaucrats, not for the benefit of citizens.
No. Notice I didn’t yell.
Who will expand the IRS and who will reign it in are indeed pertinent. If you can’t see that, then you’re not as smart as you think you are.
Every year at the State Fair I visit the Unclaimed Funds booth. Every year they tell me I have a claim for $550 my father put in an insurance account years ago in my name. Every year I file to collect the funds and they send a letter asking me to prove I lived at Van Wuyner Rd when I actually lived on Van Wagner road. Every year I explain that the name is spelled wrong and i cannot prove i lived on a street that does not exist. Every year they deny my claim based on no proof. I don’t think they want to give me the money.
If you really want to make the point file a small claims action against the State. Usually costs about $50. It will be released prior to the court date. Best scenario is they don’t show for court and you can ask the judge to add court fees to the amount.
Thank you for that advice, I believe I will. I still owe $1400 on student loans. Perhaps I’ll sue to have the money applied to those.
Lots on the net on small claim actions and judges tend to be more forgiving if all the t’s aren’t crossed. Your main point is that it is your money not the state’s.
If you have ever had displeasure of dealings with the IRS, even on small matters, you know that the right hand does not know what the left hand is doing.
And furthermore, they have nurtured a culture of not caring one bit about the petty problems of mere citizens.
Small business owners must pay quarterly “estimates” and to avoid penalties one must pay at least what they paid the previous year. When the economy went tank in 2008, our company overpaid substantially. And as 1st quarter estimate falls at same time as year end taxes (double taxes) it does help to pay a good portion to next year especially if the company is mainly seasonal work and money is tight.
In my case, it’s Maryland. Maryland sent me a final notice (never having received a prior notice) that my car insurance had a lapsed period of a month two years ago and that I had not paid the fine. They were going to get the money out of my tax refund. Ignore the fact that I am a Kentuckian and except for being stationed at Ft Meade 25 years ago I have no connection to MD. Calls do no good. Letters do no good. They want their money and that is that.
There seems to be a common thread... NY, CA, MD. The communist states want money from their citizens and, not being enough, want it from every other state’s citizens as well. And there is no real recourse.
Exactly. Never give government - state, Feds, county - one single dime until you have to.
ping!
This is a scary story. I’ve seen some stories about identity theft victims and the IRS treats them like they are the criminals and protects the thieves.
If the bureaucracy is too big to be turned back, then what?
i stated that badly. it would be VERY HARD, with millions of union members fighting every step of the way and dems in congress stalling and scratching and crawling every step of the way.
Executive Decisions, like obummer has been using?
can they dismantle whole agencies with an Executive Decree?
i dont think i am using the right term, but i hope you know what i am referring to.
Apology? Hell, someone probably told you not to forget to pay your fair share next year.
I was just asking because I don’t know how the problem can be solved but something has to be done. Didn’t congress delegate their law making responsibilities to these bureaucracies? Can’t they take it back?
You’re right about the unions. Curse the day that public employees were allowed to unionize. And I worked for a PEU so I saw firsthand how awful they are for this country.
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