Once Jailed Banker Gets $104 Million Whistleblower Payout

Only in America....

Attorneys for jailed former Swiss banker Bradley Birkenfeld announced Tuesday that the IRS will pay him $104 million as a whistleblower reward for information he turned over to the US government.

The information Birkenfeld revealed detailed the inner workings of the secretive private wealth management division of the Swiss bank UBS [UBS 12.55 0.27 (+2.2%) ], where the American-born Birkenfeld helped his US clients evade taxes by hiding wealth overseas.

At one point during his private banking career, Birkenfeld reportedly brought diamonds across the US border secured inside a toothpaste tube.

Tuesday's announcement represents an astonishing turn of fortune for Birkenfeld, who was released from federal prison in August after serving 31 months on charges relating to his efforts to help a wealthy client avoid taxes.

He is currently under home confinement in New Hampshire. The terms of his probation prevented Birkenfeld from attending the press conference announcing his windfall.

Birkenfeld attorney Stephen Kohn said the information the former Swiss banker

Why did Florida's Republican Party hide the subpoena

http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/12/01/1952560/feds-subpoena-finance-records.html


This is only the Republican Party and it's only from the state of Florida, but what it is, is a sample of just how corrupt the political system has become.
You know as well as I do that every state from both parties has this very same kind of garbage going on.
And the benefactors of this garbage are running this country, the proof is in the pudding.
America your government, as well as your political system has head lice, and their nits are everywhere.
It's time to strip them out with the lice comb.

Hat tip to Karl Denninger as well as BloggyBayou for the find.




Federal investigators slapped the Republican Party with a subpoena seeking financial records as part of a wide-ranging corruption probe by the FBI, IRS and U.S. Attorney's Office, the Herald/Times has learned.

The subpoena, delivered Election Day, sought documents related to big spending by top Republican honchos who were given party-paid American Express cards.

Top RPOF officials and investigators declined comment on the federal probe or the subpoena.

For more than a year, the party has reeled from scandals tied to the credit cards as well as four unrelated state criminal probes into its former chairman, a fundraiser, a former Florida House speaker and a Capitol insider.

Federal investigators have already interviewed consultants, donors and numerous senators -- some in their Capitol offices. The investigations are being handled in multiple offices throughout the state, from Pensacola to Miami.

The specific targets of the recent subpoena are unclear.

Republican Party of Florida Chairman John Thrasher said he wasn't sure about the details of the subpoena and said he couldn't opine on them.

Wesley Snipes ordered to surrender for 3 year prison term

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/19/wesley-snipes-ordered-to-_n_786117.html

3 years for a misdemeanor? For failing to file his taxes?
Lets talk the Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner about not paying taxes
The IRS is not a federal institution. It's the FED's collection agency.
Rattner the "car Czar" got let off with a fine and he actually committed a crime WTF.


The 48-year-old star of the "Blade" trilogy and Spike Lee's "Jungle Fever" was convicted in 2008 on three misdemeanor counts of willful failure to file his income tax returns. He was acquitted of two more serious felony charges

IRS Funding A Target In Health-Care Battle.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303341904575576094070516942.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_sections_smallbusiness


What they won't stop though is the outsourcing of the job.
If the investment banks subsidiaries can now collect your State or Local taxes, can you see over this financial dilemma to fund the IRS an opportunity for them to slip right in?
Now think of the mess they've made with property registration and foreclosure irregularities.


Funding for the Internal Revenue Service could become a battleground in the next Congress as Republicans seek to halt implementation of the new health-care law.

GOP candidates are running on a pledge to repeal that law. But some repeal advocates say a strategy of choking off funding to the IRS and federal health agencies is more politically viable.

."Repeal is not within the set of possible outcomes while President Obama holds his veto pen. However, a defunding strategy could throw sand in the gears of health care and bring it to a near standstill," said Michael Cannon, director of health policy studies at the libertarian Cato Institute.

Some Republican members of the House of Representatives have already made clear their intention to target IRS funding. "We have the power of the purse," Rep. Phil Gingrey (R., Ga.) said during a CNN appearance last month.

"Every one of these agencies involved in implementing this new law will need $5 billion to $10 billion of appropriations. We can stop that and we can certainly stop the IRS from hiring," said Mr. Gingrey.

IRS fails to assign employees security roles and responsibilities, audit finds

http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20100929_5218.phpHoly crap Batman


Holy crap Batman, you have got to be kidding me.
This has got to be the epitome of the government gone wild.
Talk about compromised. Private contractors used by the IRS and
the IRS has no idea which contractors are in security roles, because they don't train them for it.



The IRS is not required to train contract employees in cybersecurity because their companies are responsible for ensuring they have the necessary expertise. But the agency still should track contractor personnel's security duties and test them on compliance, the audit stated. In addition, the IRS has no method for determining which contractors are in security roles, the report found.

"We identified more than 1,350 contract employees with system access that held titles related to security roles, such as system administrators, database administrators, programmers, developers, security specialists, system architects, system engineers and Web developers," Phillips wrote. "These job titles may or may not align with IRS security roles."

IRS officials said they plan to establish a way to document the contract employees who have access to computer systems and then test the individuals appropriately, according to the report

Stealth IRS campaign mandates millions of new 1099 tax forms

http://www.blacklistednews.com/news-8872-0-32-32--.html


Small business, you need to take a read.
It's hard to believe this was in the Health Care Bill isn't it?
Nancy Pelosi's "Oh you'll have to pass it, to find out what's in it."
Well surprise surprise,
Now we at least know why the IRS had to hire all those new employees.

The massive expansion of requirements for businesses to file 1099 tax forms that was hidden in the 2,409-page health reform bill took many by surprise when it came to light last month. But it's just one piece of a years-long legislative stealth campaign to create ways for the federal government to track down unreported income.

The result: A blizzard of new tax forms that the Internal Revenue Service will begin rolling out next year.

ObamaCare To Be Enforced By IRS 'Bounty Hunters'

http://www.rense.com/general90/ohh.htm

OH lucky "US"

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will see its largest expansion since withholding taxes were first enacted during WWII to enforce the glut of new tax mandates and penalties included in the Democrats' latest health care plan, according to Rep. Kevin Brady (R-TX).

A new analysis by the Joint Economic Committee and the House Ways & Means Committee minority staff estimates up to 16,500 new IRS personnel will be needed to collect, examine and audit new tax information mandated on families and small businesses in the 'reconciliation' bill being taken up by the U.S. House of Representatives this weekend, according to Brady.

"When most people think of health care reform they think of more doctors exams, not more IRS exams," says U.S. Congressman Kevin Brady, the top House Republican on the Joint Economic Committee. "Isn't the federal government already intruding enough into our lives? We need thousands of new doctors and nurses in America, not thousands more IRS agents."

Scores of new federal mandates and fifteen different tax increases totaling $400 billion are imposed under the Democratic House bill. In addition to more complicated tax returns, families and small businesses will be forced to reveal further tax information to the IRS, provide proof of 'government approved' health care and submit detailed sales information to comply with new excise taxes.

PILOT ANGRY WITH IRS CRASHES INTO AUSTIN BUILDING

http://www.blacklistednews.com/news-7463-0-0-0--.html

He wasn't crazy kids, he was crushed, by a system that no matter how hard he tried to please, always seemed to end up spitting in his face.
Read his suicide letter, It's in this article.
It's not a manifesto, that's just MSM bullshit, but then what else are they good for

small plane owned by a man whose Web site indicated he was furious at the Internal Revenue Service slammed into a seven-story office building in northwest Austin that houses some of the agencies offices, injuring two people inside and leaving another person unaccounted for.

The home of the plane's owner, Joseph Andrew Stack, burned down this morning in Austin before his plane hit the building at 9430 Research Boulevard. A Web site registered to him featured a long complaint against the tax system, capitalist greed, his accountant, former President George W. Bush and other targets.

The site is titled, "Well Mr. Big Brother IRS man ... take my pound of flesh and sleep well." The note and other documents indicate Stack moved from California to Austin after the dot-com bust.

Messages left with the accountant were not immediately returned.

Austin police declined to discuss the house fire and Internet manifesto.

The Piper Cherokee took off from Georgetown this morning

IRS acquiring shotguns?

https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=8d3b076bd4de14bbda5aba699e80621d&tab=core&_cview=1&cck=1&au=&ck=

What's up with that? And WHY do they feel the need for them?

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) intends to purchase sixty Remington Model 870 Police RAMAC #24587 12 gauge pump-action shotguns for the Criminal Investigation Division. The Remington parkerized shotguns, with fourteen inch barrel, modified choke, Wilson Combat Ghost Ring rear sight and XS4 Contour Bead front sight, Knoxx Reduced Recoil Adjustable Stock, and Speedfeed ribbed black forend, are designated as the only shotguns authorized for IRS duty based on compatibility with IRS existing shotgun inventory, certified armorer and combat training and protocol, maintenance, and parts.

Submit quotes including 11% Firearms and Ammunition Excise Tax (FAET) and shipping to Washington DC.

IRS commissioner doesn't file his own taxes

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/75119-irs-commissioner-doesnt-file-his-own-taxes

If the tax codes are to complicated for the commissioner to prepare his own, then the question is:
What exactly is it that makes him qualified to hold his position?

IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman does not file his own taxes in part because he believes the tax code is complex.


During an interview on C-SPAN's "Newsmakers" program that aired on Sunday, Shulman said he uses a tax preparer for his own returns.



"I've used one for years. I find it convenient. I find the tax code complex so I use a preparer," Shulman said.

Congress tinkers with withholding tax

http://biggovernment.com/2010/01/06/dems-tinker-with-withholding-tax-tables-for-2010/

Their making up the difference of revenue cause by rampant unemployment anyway they can.

Recently, retired military have received e-mail messages notifying them of a withholding tax increase. The email states:

NO ANNUAL COST OF LIVING ADJUSTMENT (COLA) WILL BE ADDED TO MILITARY RETIRED PAY IN 2010.

DUE TO RECENT LEGISLATION YOUR FEDERAL WITHHOLDING TAX HAS CHANGED.

After much investigating and several discussions with the IRS, it appears the Democrats have played a “cash-flow trick” on working Americans and are taking more out of American’s paychecks across the board–all the while touting the Making Work Pay tax credit.

Explain This to IRS: Tax Agency Is $32 Billion Short

http://www.sphere.com/nation/article/irs-reduces-delinquent-collections-by-32-billion/19305966?ncid=webmaildl1

Oh yeah rightttttttttt, What a crock of crap and THESE are the people that are supposed to handle the dailies of the health care reform

The Internal Revenue Service suddenly reduced the amount of revenue it reported from delinquent collections by $32 billion, or about 27 percent, providing little information about what happened to the money, according to a report released Wednesday morning.

"There is an astonishing lack of transparency as to what is included in these revenue figures and how they are computed," said National Taxpayer Advocate Nina E. Olson as part of her annual report to Congress. "The failure to highlight and explain revisions of such magnitude erodes confidence in IRS's data reporting."

The IRS reported more than $121 billion in delinquent tax collection revenues from 2005 to 2007. But in its 2008 IRS Data Book, it quietly revised the number downward to less than $89 billion. Olson's report said that was part of a larger picture of the IRS now having a handle on what type of collection activities really bring in revenue.

Tax preparers to face new regulation, IRS scrutiny

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Tax-preparers-to-face-new-apf-645691092.html?x=0&sec=topStories&pos=3&asset=&ccode=

One has to wonder if the IRS is also going to be held to these standards.
If you have a question and call the IRS and the person that serves you is wrong and gives you incorrect information, will they then be held accountable?
Are they going to have to pass an accuracy test to prove that they are knowledgeable enough to hold the position of scrutinizing another's preparation?

Tax preparers to see new IRS regulations requiring competency tests, setting ethical standards

U.S. gave up billions in tax money in deal for Citigroup's bailout repayment

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/15/AR2009121504534.html

And this helps the American public how?


"They are rolling the dice big time," said Christopher Whalen, a financial analyst with Institutional Risk Analytics. "My fear is that the banks will definitely have to raise a lot more capital next year. The question is from whom and on what terms."

The Citigroup repayment deal required significant sacrifices by both sides, underscoring the mutual determination to get it done. Citigroup was required to replace its federal aid with an equal amount of money from private investors, more than any other bank. The government concluded that Citigroup needed the IRS ruling because a reduction in the value of its tax breaks would have eroded its capital, forcing the company to raise more money, officials said.

Federal tax law lets companies reduce taxable income in a good year by the amount of losses in bad years. But the law limits the transfer of those benefits to new ownership as a way of preventing profitable companies from buying losers to avoid taxes. Under the law, the government's sale of its 34 percent stake in Citigroup, combined with the company's recent sales of stock to raise money, qualified as a change in ownership.

The IRS notice issued Friday saves Citigroup from the consequences by stipulating that the government's share sale does not count toward the definition of an ownership change. The company, which pushed for the ruling, did not return calls for comment

Alternate reality

This is the world we're now living in kids. It's one were the privileged are allowed
to do just about anything they want, and to make up for that privileged loss of revenue, YOU will be scrutinized just that much more.
And we let them WHY?


http://www.wtop.com/?nid=111&sid=1743474
US to detail accord with Swiss over UBS accounts

Experts predict the accord will force the bank to hand over up to 5,000 of the 52,000 names sought by the IRS. The conditions of the handover will be such that Switzerland will not break its own banking secrecy laws, the Swiss government has pledged.

UBS has admitted to helping some U.S. clients hide large sums of money in offshore accounts. The bank earlier this year turned over more than 250 client names and paid a $780 million penalty in a deferred prosecution agreement with the U.S.

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IRS to Mine Payment Data on Mortgages
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125176078680774177.html

The Internal Revenue Service will expand a program designed to catch tax cheats that searches for inconsistencies between mortgage payments and income.
After prompting from an IRS auditor, the agency will study whether it should make greater use of data on mortgage-interest payments provided to it by banks. The IRS currently uses such data to send notices to non-filers who it believes should have filed a return.
The data could also be used to target for audits individuals who don't file tax returns, or who report less income than they paid in mortgage interest, according to a letter released Monday by the Treasury inspector general for tax administration.
The IRS move will expand a regional research project on mortgage interest to a nationwide level by December 2011. Such initiatives, called Compliance Initiative Projects, typically involve examination of a small number of tax returns to evaluate new enforcement strategies.
Howard Levy, a tax attorney with the Cincinnati firm Voorhees Levy, said mortgage-interest data might be the best source of information the IRS has on small-business owners, such as roofers or carpenters, who are paid in cash and don't report all their income to the IRS.
"That [IRS Form] 1098 might be one of the few trails IRS could pursue to find out if there is income coming in," Mr. Levy said.
One Republican lawmaker cautioned Monday that the IRS plan could snare taxpayers who have coped with job losses by borrowing or using savings or retirement accounts to make their house payments.
"We shouldn't presume that

IRS tax revenue falls along with taxpayers' income

http://www.usatoday.com/money/perfi/...nue-down_N.htm


Federal tax revenue plunged $138 billion, or 34%, in April vs. a year ago — the biggest April drop since 1981, a study released Tuesday by the American Institute for Economic Research says.
When the economy slumps, so does tax revenue, and this recession has been no different, says Kerry Lynch, senior fellow at the AIER and author of the study. "It illustrates how severe the recession has been."

For example, 6 million people lost jobs in the 12 months ended in April — and that means far fewer dollars from income taxes. Income tax revenue dropped 44% from a year ago.

"These are staggering numbers," Lynch says.

Big revenue losses mean that the U.S. budget deficit may be larger than predicted this year and in future years.

"It's one of the drivers of the ongoing expansion of the federal budget deficit," says John Lonski, chief economist for Moody's Investors Service. The Congressional Budget Office projects a $1.7 trillion budget deficit for fiscal year 2009.

The other deficit driver is government spending, which, the AIER's report says, is the main culprit for the federal budget deficit.

The White House thinks that tax revenue will increase in 2011, thanks in part to the stimulus package, says the report from AIER, an independent economic research institute. But it warns, "Even if that does happen, the administration also projects that government spending will be so much higher each year that large deficits will continue, and the national debt held by the public will double over the next 10 years."

The government may have a hard time trimming spending to reduce the deficit when the recession ends. The 77 million Baby Boomers— those born in 1946 through 1964 — will start tapping their federal retirement benefits soon, which means increased government outlays for Social Security and Medicare.

"It will be doubly difficult for federal government to reduce expenditures and narrow the deficit as rapidly as they did following previous recessions," Lonski says. At the end of the last major recession, in 1981, Boomers were in their 30s. Their incomes were expanding, as was their appetite for goods and services.

The Boomers now are in their 50s and 60s and unlikely to keep increasing incomes for long, which means that revenue from income taxes could flatten in the next few years. Also, Lonski says, they are more likely to save for retirement than spend — and consumer spending is a big driver of the economy.

"The American consumer led us out of previous recessions with some semblance of gusto," Lonski says. "They're too old to do it now."