patrick.net

Nothing about abolishing IRS in the budget bills currently moving through the Congress.

When you are 36.5 Trillion dollars in debt, things like eliminating the IRS and Doge dividends don't math out.

https://www.coffeeandcovid.com/p/inform-me-wednesday-march-5-2025

Yesterday, the New York Times devolved into a full panic, running a story headlined, “Trump Administration Pushes to Slash I.R.S. Work Force in Half.” Leaping to find the glass half-empty, the Times’s sub-headline groused, “Americans may have to wait longer to receive tax refunds.” Cue the tiny violins.

“The IRS is preparing to shed as much as 50 percent of its staff,” the Times marveled, “a significant cut that could jeopardize the agency’s ability to complete its basic mission of collecting taxes.” Progress. Maybe they should consider pruning up the tax code? Maybe that would cut down on the workload? Oh, nevermind.

As always, it was the terror of the possible. The Times found three possible catastrophes to complain about. First, a possible delay in “processing refunds.” Second, maybe longer wait times for phone service. And third, there might be fewer audits.

Not fewer audits! Joe, say it isn’t so. (Chalk up another 80/20 issue Trump is claiming for the GOP.)

But the real problem is that the IRS isn’t exactly crushing it. According to a 2023 CATO Institute article, things at the nation’s most feared and despised agency are not super great:

The IRS answers the tax-assistance line only about 11% of the time, and those lucky souls got through after an average of 29 minutes on hold.

28 percent of calls received a “courtesy disconnect,” which is IRS-speak for hanging up on people after they’ve been on hold for 90-120 minutes, and telling them to try it over again later.

The IRS takes over 350 days to resolve cases of identity theft involving fake returns.

IRS staff enter paper returns into the IRS system by hand, resulting in up to 43% error rates.

Treasury’s inspector general estimated the IRS could save over $200 million a year in labor costs just by ending manual data entry of paper returns.

They haven’t exactly created a loyal fan base, either:

Unlike all other criminal law, in tax cases the burden of proof is on you, the taxpayer, not the government.

You get no trial by jury in Tax Court.

The Fifth Amendment does not apply to tax matters. Taxpayers must sign their returns “under penalty of perjury”— regardless that it might later be used against them in a criminal case. In other words, no Miranda. They don’t read you your rights.

Since last year, even selling a broken toaster on eBay gets you a 1099-K, dumping the burden on you to prove you didn’t turn a taxable profit.

And that’s just the administrative incompetence—we haven’t even touched on the weaponization of the IRS for political purposes. If you want to read a more complete primer on the IRS’s many failures, that 2023 CATO Institute article is a great place to start.

DOGE it! I would call cutting IRS in half a good start.

IRS is a bunch of clowns. I had to send in an amended return, along with a copy of the original return, according to their instructions. They later sent back the copy with a whole bunch of edits - WTF? If was the copy of the original return they wanted.

Dumb fucks.

I always mail paper copies of my tax returns, because if I have to go to the trouble of filling them out, I want to be damned sure that some IRS flunky has to read it line by line.

Taxes are a lot like bitches - never make it easy, make them earn/qualify themselves. Don't be the simp beta and make it easy on them.

Another reason for tariffs are because they are Constitutional and Trump is guiding us back to the Constitutional Republic which was hijacked by the instigation of the Civil War and subsequent 1871 corporate surrender to the Euro entities. The last official meeting of the representatives of the Republic was before 1860.

So far not a pip on abolishing FIT.

I'd like them to repeal FATCA and FBAR. Manchurian Obama pushed these so that only the oligarch rats could leave the sinking ship. Can't afford Cayman Islands shell corps to hide your stash? Too bad.

stereotomy says

I'd like them to repeal FATCA and FBAR. Manchurian Obama pushed these so that only the oligarch rats could leave the sinking ship. Can't afford Cayman Islands shell corps to hide your stash? Too bad.

Wait, the ship is sinking?

RWSGFY says

So far not a pip on abolishing FIT.

Because it doesn't math out. Once DOGE is done we have a balanced budget, we still have 36.5T debt to pay off, so even if there is a budget surplus, that's where it's going to go.

RWSGFY says

stereotomy says

I'd like them to repeal FATCA and FBAR. Manchurian Obama pushed these so that only the oligarch rats could leave the sinking ship. Can't afford Cayman Islands shell corps to hide your stash? Too bad.

Wait, the ship is sinking?

The petrodollar is sinking and the Triffin Dilemma is coiling like a python around it.

stereotomy says

RWSGFY says

stereotomy says

I'd like them to repeal FATCA and FBAR. Manchurian Obama pushed these so that only the oligarch rats could leave the sinking ship. Can't afford Cayman Islands shell corps to hide your stash? Too bad.

Wait, the ship is sinking?

The petrodollar is sinking and the Triffin Dilemma is coiling like a python around it.

But that was under Biden. There is new sheriff in town!

https://x.com/TheRabbitHole84/status/1909368942390657480

Patrick says

https://x.com/TheRabbitHole84/status/1909368942390657480

To be fair, in 1913 gubmint wasn't doing much: no SS, no medical anything, no wellfare, no interstates, no FAA, no FDA, no NOAA, no NASA, no subsidies for farmers and Tesla, etc.

RWSGFY says

To be fair, in 1913 gubmint wasn't doing much: no SS, no medical anything, no wellfare, no interstates, no FAA, no FDA, no NOAA, no NASA, no subsidies for farmers and Tesla, etc.

... AND the sheer amount of government corruption and propaganda was insignificant compared to today.

Patrick says

I don't like taxes, but even as a former smoker I do think cigs should be taxed heavy. There are here in IL. It's not worth it to smoke. Hang with a buddy and usually take a shower at home after hanging. It's annoying but he's a nice friend.

Otherwise if I lay on anything it all smells like smokes. I really don't know how my wife put up with it for roughly 8 years.

WookieMan says

I don't like taxes, but even as a former smoker I do think cigs should be taxed heavy.

This is why we will be double fucked triple fucked and rammed in the ass with metal studded butt plugs if income tax is abolished.
All of the "I don't condone violence but he deserved to get his head chopped off." idiots. Will find all sorts of ways to justify every one getting taxed for everything and anything. As long as it doesn't affect them.
They will be taxing every mile we drive in our cars, while raising the fuck out of gas tax at the same time. We will be taxed going to stores, taxes on the place you rent, just like property taxes. They will bring back the personal property tax like in the Christmas Story. Tax on everything you consume and a tax to get rid of it. How much you eat, how much you drink, everything.

The problem I have with punishment taxes, is what in the fuck is the money being used for, and how much does it offset the sins, they are trying to mitigate. It's just another ass raping is all it is. And if you can go along with that, then you'll fit just fine and dandy to a $10 gallon gas tax, because Pickle Smuggler boy, rides an electric bike and sees no use for your ICE car and he smugly and condescendingly believes, gas should be taxed more.

Nothing should be taxed and government jobs shouldn't exist. Let the corporations ass rape you for every wisp of air you breath. That will have you talking about the good ole days of income tax being deducted from your paycheck.

https://www.coffeeandcovid.com/p/negentropy-monday-april-28-2025-c

Bloomberg ran an exciting story this weekend headlined, “Trump Floats New Income Tax Cut in Bid to Ease Tariffs Bite.” Talk about underselling the headline. The proposal apparently aims to eliminate all income taxes on people making less than $200,000 a year. Here’s what the President tweeted yesterday:

Donald J. Trump
@realDonaldTrump
When Tariffs cut in, many people's Income Taxes will be substantially reduced, maybe even completely eliminated.
Focus will be on people making less than $200,000 a year. Also, massive numbers of jobs are already being
created, with new plants and factories currently being built or planned. It will be a BONANZA FOR AMERICA!!! THE
EXTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE IS HAPPENING!!!

Trump said it will take time, it won’t happen overnight, and you would think media would be okay with that, since we’re still waiting for President Brainpan J. Autopen’s so-called ‘inflation act’ to kick in. (Hint: don’t hold your breath.) “We’re going to make a lot of money, and we’re going to cut taxes for the people of this country,” Trump said yesterday while heading back to Washington from his New Jersey golf club. “It’ll take a little while before we do that,” he added.

Maybe it will happen … right before next year’s midterms? That would be propitious timing.

I'm at 10% marginal Federal tax rate. However, I and my employer pay 22% combined for SSI and Medicare, and this is from dollar one of my earnings, not like income taxes, where you have a standard deduction or itemized deductions.

So I guess elimination of 10% is good - that'll give me an extra 10% a month take home. That might cover 50% of the inflation that's cut into my purchasing power for groceries in the past several years.

If I didn't have gold or other assets I'd be totally fucked by now.

stereotomy says

I'm at 10% marginal Federal tax rate.

Did you really mean "marginal" and not "effective?" "Marginal" would put your taxable income as under $11k single or under $22k married.

Do we know what happened after 1913 which caused the government to start taxing people?

1. WWI cost us a bundle; I don't know what we were doing over there. My grandfather was there and was hit with mustard gas.

2. Women got the vote.

3. Women voted for Prohibition.

After Prohibition, there was no revenue from taxing spirit alcohol.

The government grew to massive size during Prohibition.

Making something illegal which Americans all consume wasn't a great idea, but it sure attracted guys like Al Capone willing to step in and supply us.

clambo says

Making something illegal which Americans all consume wasn't a great idea, but it sure attracted guys like Al Capone willing to step in and supply us.

And Joe Kennedy.

clambo says

Do we know what happened after 1913 which caused the government to start taxing people?

Women got the vote.

Tenpoundbass says

As I suspect interest rates will go up back to historical norms, and the interest rate will naturally fluctuate based on economics rather than a Fed chief trying to throw failing Presidents a lifeline, by keeping them artificially low.

GLWTA

Patrick says

Boiling frog effect.

The solution is to go back to the Tariffs and the per capita tax on the States. It's left up to the States how they raise the money for the per capita tax.

Land values are the only appropriate object of taxation.

Combined with tariffs, they would provide enough money for any reasonably sized government.