paulshishkoffjr.com

I was mentioned in a twitter feed, just recently over a story about a $110, 000 bank error that could cost a California man his freedom.  34-year-old Stephen McDow found $110,000 in his checking account given to him by the United States Treasury.  He used half of the money to pay off his debt, but there is a problem.  The $110,000 was not for him, it was for an elderly woman who had the same bank account number in 2004.  The elderly woman pressed charges against Mr. McDow and now he is looking at a felony charge on his record.  This story shows the flaws in the IRS tax code and how people could have their lives destroyed because of the complexity of the code.

            When you have a tax code that is loaded with tax credits and deductions, you create a dependency on government.  I can see an overpayment of hundreds of dollars, but hundreds of thousands of dollars?  Meanwhile the Federal Government is crying not enough tax revenue.  All you need for a tax refund the size of purchasing a condo or a townhome is if you are sick, bought a home, and put solar panels on that home.  The tax credits and deductions are designed to control human behavior.  It also could lead to abuse. 

            As for the lady who didn’t update her bank account to the IRS, why didn’t she?  Did she think at one time that she would never see a tax refund the size of $110,000?  Or did she not want the IRS to levy her current bank account?  While Mr. McDow’s reputation is now tarnished because of this error, the woman is still capable of manipulating the tax system for her benefit.  She is an example of selfish convenient behavior herself, by not wanting the IRS to intrude in her current bank accounts, but when Uncle Sam wants to give her $110,000 she is strict in wanting to get ‘what she deserves’.

            Another problem with this lady’s case against Stephen McDow is that she is not cooperating with the media.  While privacy needs to be protected, an exception to protection of privacy is when you claim that you overpayed the government $110,000.  The lady’s attorneys are going to have to show malice intent by Stephen McDow that he fraudulently claimed the tax refund.  So far, she is batting about the same as ARod in the series vs. the Tigers. 

            The Stephen McDow story is an example of the abuses in the welfare state in the United States of America.  When the government gives away free money through the IRS tax code, it expects the individuals to be obedient to their mandates.  But yet the Federal Government has gotten so big, that bureaucracies like the IRS can’t pick up the phone and ask for this lady’s new bank account number.  Of course the onus would be on her when she doesn’t pick up the phone, thinking that she owes taxes.  And yet the rich are the only ones who are getting away with not paying their ‘fair share’?    

http://money.msn.com/how-to-budget/article.aspx?post=99f2cb07-ef24-457b-bd89-4292f49f7466&gt1=33002%27%20rel=%27nofollow