This policy should have been in effect since Waco. It keeps everyone safe and will put more people in danger as the Biden administration continues weaponizing the federal government against its political opponents. The Internal Revenue Service will suspend the practice of unannounced visits due to safety concerns, specifically angry taxpayers who don’t take kindly to the likes of a federal agent who works for a department that many consider to be operating under the auspices of legalized theft.
The IRS said that have plenty of resources at its disposal to retrieve alleged unreported income and that it will only conduct an unannounced drop-in under extraordinary circumstances (via WaPo):
Wow. Thanks to @Jim_Jordan and his staff for pushing this issue. The IRS shouldn’t be making surprise visits, and they should get credit for making the change. https://t.co/Cxzwgo4oSW
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) July 24, 2023
Internal Revenue Service agents will no longer make unannounced visits to taxpayers’ homes, the agency said Monday, in a policy shift meant to protect employees’ safety due to the fear of potentially irate taxpayers answering the door.
Since at least the 1950s, revenue agents have knocked on tens of thousands of taxpayers’ doors each year, according to agency staff. The new policy will reduce these visits to no more than a few hundred per year, and only under unusual circumstances.
Instead of making house calls to taxpayers who have ignored overdue tax notices in the mail, the agency will send letters that instruct taxpayers to schedule a visit with a revenue officer, it explained.
“This is the right thing to do and the right time to end it,” IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel said in a statement. “We have the tools we need to successfully collect revenue without adding stress with unannounced visits.”
[…]
Safety concerns have long dogged the door-knockers. More than 30 years ago, the IRS said agents were assaulted hundreds of times in a year, making them the most-attacked federal law enforcement officers. It even told them they could use fake names for their own protection.
But recent rhetoric from Republicans opposed to last year’s increase in IRS funding has raised more concerns about agents showing up announced on citizens’ doorsteps. While the revenue agents who historically did the door-knocking never carried guns, some Republicans have falsely claimed the agency was spending billions to hire thousands of gun-toting officers to collect people’s taxes.
Oh wait, it’s the Republican Party’s fault that this policy is ending. The previous paragraph already said IRS agents used to be pummeled with these unannounced door knocks, and that was before the Tea Party and the political ascendency of Donald Trump. The partisanship and heightened rhetoric also fall flat. Tip O’Neil and Ronald Reagan had a good working relationship. There were more conservative Democrats on the Hill, and agents were still getting beaten.
Maybe, as it was when the British tried to force their way into our homes, people don’t like feds with guns barging in and asking questions. It’s just a thought. The policy should have ended 30 years ago if agents were getting assaulted this frequently. That’s the buried lede.
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