My I.R.S. Story

By Jacqueline Brook

(Note: The identity of I.R.S. agents is a matter
of National Security--believe it or not! Thus, I
shall call the I.R.S. agent that I've been dealing
with "X.")

I began not filing and not paying Federal taxes in
2001. I believe that if I contribute to paying the
salaries of blatant criminals, I make myself
complicit in the crimes being committed.

I believe, with every fiber in my body, that 9/11
was an inside-job.)

The Offense Department (let's call a spade a spade)
and its "Long War" are utterly abhorrent to me.

Abu Ghraib? Well...don't even get me started!

Earlier this year, however, some internal voice seemed to be urging me to clean up my "tax mess." At the time, there was an unopened
letter from X on my kitchen counter demanding that
I file returns for 2001 - 2004 by April 30, 2006--or
"enforcement actions up to and including the
seizure and sale of real estate owned by you in
Putney, Vt. will be initiated to collect the
outstanding liability." (I was aware though that a
lien had been placed against my home for $421,346,
for taxes that I supposedly owed on a ridiculous
amount of income I had supposedly earned in 2001
and 2002.)

In the letter that sat unopened, X had
pulled a "Lewis Libby" by informing me that, if I
had any problems with the proposed actions, I
could call or write to X's boss--who was named in
the letter.

Trust me, the I.R.S. does Enron accounting. Their
assessment was absolutely ludicrous! I documented
my financial life in 2001 and 2002 for three
different I.R.S. agents I never heard back
from two of them and, in the end, X refused
to consider the information I provided--which
would seem to run counter to Section 3421 of
Public Law 105-206 (Approval Process for Liens,
Levies, and Seizures). In any case, to this I can
attest with certainty: Accurate information does
not, and will not, hinder the I.R.S. process in
any way, shape, or form.

As I played my yearly game of Russian Roulette
with the I.R.S., responding, in rotation, to
communications from offices around the country
(some of the most inane communications that I've
ever received, produced on computers that--it
seems utterly clear to me--are NOT networked
together), I repeated over and over again my
refusal to provide material support for
international terrorists (i.e., the Bush-cabal). I
also attempted to educate I.R.S. agents by
enclosing copies of books--David Ray Griffin's
analysis of the 9/11 Commission Report, for
instance.

However, after struggling for quite awhile with
this rather new internal voice, and
eventually opening up the above-mentioned letter,
I finally decided to hire an accountant and spent
a weekend pulling together records for five years.

There were no nasty surprises. My accountant
figured that my original "liability" for 2001 -
2003 amounted to $424 for each year. (I'd been
very charitable. I'd supported the people and
organizations I'd chosen to support--as opposed to
torture and endless, global war. I have this crazy
idea that if we all help look after our neighbors
and our neighborhoods, the world will take care of
itself.)

I then met with X.

X looked at the four years worth of
completed forms and these three amounts of $424
and asked: "Why do you owe us this money? Couldn't
your accountant come up with deductions to wipe
out these amounts?" This was the same person who
had put the $421,346 lien on my home!!!

I told X that we had declared $24,000 worth of
income that had not even hit the I.R.S.'s radar
screen. X replied: "It's not a perfect system."

I then asked if X had ever thought of trying to
conceive of and develop a better system. X
replied: "It's actually a pretty good system. It
works pretty well."

At one point, I proposed to X: "My experience with
the I.R.S. over the last several years is a
metaphor for the way the whole Federal government
works right now, isn't it?"

X replied: "Yes." And then we both spontaneously
burst out laughing--and laughed together heartily
for at least 30 seconds!!!

(After you've sat and had a good laugh with an
I.R.S. agent, everything sort of shifts...)

I asked X what would have happened if I'd ignored
X's last communication to me (regarding the
possible seizure of my home). X replied that I had
been correct in my last communication (before that
internal voice kicked in). The I.R.S. cannot seize
a principal residence without the consent of a
district court judge--and I would've been invited
to that proceeding. (See Sections 3444 and 3445 of
Public Law 105-206.) I asked: "Given the position
I've repeatedly put forth and the amount of
research I've done into what's going on and the
fact that I no longer want anything to do with
this fraudulent political construct called the
United States of America, what do you think
would've happened?" X replied: "I don't know, but
it would've been interesting...But you didn't want
it to go that far."

X added interest and penalties to the $424 amounts
for 2001 and 2002, bumping them up to $774 and
$689 respectively. I wrote checks for those
amounts in full. X then assured me that the lien
would be discharged in 30 days and that I would be
notified of that event.

I had not filed Vermont tax forms for and since
2001 either. I had, however, mailed a reasonable
check to the Vermont tax department every year.
According to my accountant, I was owed most of
that money back. The Vermont tax department
disagreed and informed me that it was too late to
apply for refunds for 2001 and 2002. Then they
sent me $50 penalty notices, apparently for the
money that I had sent to them that I didn't owe to
them and that they were refusing to return.
(Actually, I found out later, they were penalties
for filing late.)

And then something automatic kicked in in the I.R.S.'s pretty good computer
system: They seized most of the rest of the money
I thought would be coming back to me from Vermont.
I left a very angry message on X's answering
machine. X called me back and practically yelled:
"I didn't do that! That action didn't originate in
my office!...But I'll look into it for you."

Very quickly, I received notice that my filings
for 2003 - 2004 had been processed. Enclosed was a
bill for interest and penalties. I left another
message on X's answering machine, asking him why
2001 and 2002 hadn't been processed first, so that
the lien could be removed from my house. I
suggested that X call his buddies at the Ogden,
Utah, Service Center and get them to do their
jobs.

I think X may have made that call, because, shortly
thereafter, I received a letter from the Ogden
Service Center, saying, basically: "We don't have
the manpower to process your 2001 and 2002
filings. We'll let you know if anything changes in
the next 90 days."

Dueling middle fingers! I told
X: "Nice of your buddies to leave you twisting in
the wind. Your name is on the lien. It's your
responsibility to get it removed." I'd been
assured earlier by X that X desired nothing more.
Now, it was clear that that is not actually within
X's power!

And so it stands at summer's end, as I write this.

By the way, I like and respect X. X is just doing
a job, supporting a family. (Although...I couldn't
write a job description for X. X has admitted to
no expertise in "tax law.") Anyway, when I ranted
on about the Bush-cabal during one of our
meetings, X tried hard to play the nasty I.R.S
agent.

In the end, though, X responded very quietly: "You're
preaching to the choir."

Oh, and one more thing.

DO NOT reply with correspondence to the Cincinnati, Ohio, office.
Apparently, English is not their language. They only process checks. They will send you a form letter, telling you to resend your correspondence
to the Holtsville, NY, office. And good luck with them! That's the office from which I received the most stupid form letter I have EVER received in my life! I think there's nothing more there than a poorly programmed computer--hence, the National Security issue. They don't want you to know that.

My encouragement to all. Play the game well!