IRS heartless?

Question

Why is the IRS so heartless? Why do they take away people's lives for not paying taxes?

good answer.

But I still don't think people should be sent to prision for not paying a small amount of taxes because they couldn't afford it.

I know of someone who didn't pay their taxes and did 5 years in prison for it. 5 years of their life taken away for money!! He was a professional boxer from the ghetto and his manager screwed him over. 20 years the IRS came knockin. He couldn't pay and ended up doing 5 years.

Yea, but they make the recommendations still.

What about the dude from surviver who won a million dollars. He was sent to prison for over 4 years of his life for not paying the taxes he spent. 15% of the rest of his life taken away for money.

And yes, he didn't have the money to pay, so he went to prison. It was nearly 300k he owed but 20 some years later he didn't have a penny of it. He was broke. He was sent to prison. I have seen his paperwork.
It doesn't make sense. He owed 300k, and then has to be in a prison where tax payers spend 100k a year to incarcerate him.

I am not saying the IRS is bad. I just think it is too cut and paste sometimes.
That's all.

Answer 1

IRS Special Agents are criminal investigators who prepare recommendations for prosecution of people for violation of federal tax laws which are presented to the Department of Justice. The Department of Justice determines who they will prosecute and what for. The IRS does not have the authority to prosecute anybody.

Answer 2

If someone spent five years in prison, there was a lot more to the story than just not paying and not having the money to pay. It sounds like either you don't have the whole story, or are not telling it.

Now if he had the money, but hid it in an attempt not to pay, or filed deliberate fraudulent returns, then that's possible. But the IRS doesn't put people in jail just for not having the money to pay what they owe.

Answer 3

The IRS is not heartless anymore. Folks do not go to prison for not paying taxes unless they were involved in serious and intentional tax FRAUD. Re-payment programs for past due taxes are now available, and the IRS works decently with taxpayers to collect these funds.

Where did you get the notion that people go to prison for not paying income taxes ?

Answer 4

People do NOT go to prison for not paying a small amount of tax because they can't afford it. People only go to prison for willful tax evasion or tax fraud and in most cases the IRS will give them a limited amount of time to come clean and pay up before they consider criminal prosecution.

Answer 5

IRS is not heartless, People try to take advantage and not pay what they owe. If someone just continues to ignore IRS then IRS must take action, but it takes IRS years to take action, giving the people a chance to pay.
Regardless if it is the IRS or any credit card, car loan, if you a person owes and doesn't pay, one will have to suffer the consequences.
A lot of people feel everything should be paid for them.

Answer 6

Honestly, because it's their job to collect money people are supposed to pay...and they deal with every excuse in the book. They also deal with tax evaders, whiners, criers, people who threaten their lives, and people who just don't believe in paying taxes.

But think about this...they are collecting for all of us. When your employer collects taxes, they are supposed to pay it to the IRS so it goes into a fund in your name specifically. This money is often refunded at the end of the year to you, or will go into your Social Security fund. How would you feel if you worked thirty years of your life for one unscrupulous employer only to find out they pocketed all that money from you and you had no social security fund.

I know most people don't believe they will ever get social security, but if something were to happen to you, that money goes to your spouse or children. Therefore, the IRS is not only protecting you, they are protecting your family. So, in essence, they aren't all bad. They just have to be firm or no one would ever pay taxes. (I know I wouldn't.)

Hope this helps.