I came across this post from Liberal Currents the other day:
The opening paragraph may be one of the simplest and best short promo for why taxes exist (bolding emphasis mine):
Taxes are not a punishment. They’re the fuel in the engine of the republic, a positive affirmation of and direct investment in our values, and a system of incentives and disincentives to shape our collective vision of the good. They pay for education, infrastructure, foundational research, national defense, healthcare, public services, and more. Taxes are how we build the world for each other.
Which brings me to a recent personal interaction - or lack thereof - with the IRS and my view on how this interaction relates to the bigger picture.
I had read an article about potentially receiving refunds for penalties/interest on tax returns filed during the COVID pandemic. I wasn’t sure if Mrs. Wypoxic and I had incurred any, so I decided to go online and log into my already existing IRS account to check.
And so it began…
I was met with a page telling me I needed an ID.me account to sign in - it was the only option offered for signing in. Interestingly, I noticed this little disclaimer (underlining mine): “ID.me is an account created, maintained, and secured by a technology provider.”
Ok. Lucky for me, I already had an ID.me account. I swiftly moved through the two-factor authentication process. Easy…
Oops! Not so fast…
I was met with a page telling me that Id.me (a private contractor for the government - not the government itself) needed to verify my identity before I could enter the IRS site. Id.me then requested all the personal information someone would need to steal my identity:
Personal Information: Full legal name (as it appears on your tax records/SS card), date of birth, Social Security Number (SSN) or ITIN, email address and phone number
Government-issued Photo ID (upload a clear image of one of the following):, driver’s license, state ID card, U.S. passport or passport card
Device & Selfie Verification (smartphone or computer with a camera): a live selfie or short video selfie to match your face to your ID
Multi-factor authentication (set up at least one of): SMS text codes, authenticator app (recommended), security key (less common)
Sometimes required (if the system can’t verify you automatically): Social Security card, utility bill (proof of address), bank statement, pay stub or W-2, vehicle registration
Seriously?! WTF!
Ok. I went thought the entire process and was told that ID.me needed to further verify my info with a video call, and that I would receive instructions for the call within 24-48 hours.
That was 10 days ago. I’ve received several emails in the interim from ID.me with the subject line reading: “Your documents are still waiting for review”. then the following text:
Wait to hear from us for next steps
We haven’t forgotten about you! Review times are longer due to high volumes.
We’ll send you an email with information on how to move forward.
Thank you for your patience.
In desperation, I called the IRS (you can guess where this is going). I was put on hold and after an interminable amount of time, was told no one could answer my call and then the line just went dead. No request for me to leave a voicemail. No queue. Nothing - just dead silence. To summarize. I can’t login to my IRS account without an ID.me profile (even though I’ve had an existing ID.me account for over 4 years) and after providing my entire identifying info, ID.me lets me know that they need further verification and they’ll get back to me at some unknown date whenever they feel like it. And the IRS phone line is useless. Great! 😡🤬 ___________________ I’ve written about my views on the importance of the IRS before in this post (among others): Taxes: or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the IRS. My post included the following: “The Biden Administration and Congress passed a law called The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. this law allocated nearly $80 billion in new funding for the IRS over a ten-year period with the aim of modernizing the agency and improving tax enforcement and taxpayer services. The law included funds for: |
Enforcement: Over $45 billion dedicated to strengthening enforcement activities — such as improving audits and compliance efforts — especially targeting large corporations and high-income taxpayers.
Modernization & Operations: More than $25 billion for operations support, including upgrading outdated technology and systems.
Taxpayer Services: About $3 billion aimed at enhancing taxpayer services such as customer assistance, reducing processing backlogs, and improving online tools.
IT & Business Systems Modernization: Additional funds (over $4 billion) for updating the IRS’s computer systems to better handle returns and taxpayer interactions.
Almost immediately after winning back the House in 2022, Republicans began trying to claw back the funds allocated to the IRS mentioned above. The first bill introduced by Republicans in the 118th Congress was the Family and Small Business Taxpayer Protection Act which would rescind the expansion of the Internal Revenue Service included in the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. They succeeded in removing nearly ALL of the funds allocated for increased enforcement.
From Wikipedia: Proponents of the bill, the Congressional Republicans, claim that the bill is necessary to protect middle-class Americans from increased audits and scrutiny from the IRS and hold the institution accountable.[1] Opponents of the bill, Congressional Democrats and President Joe Biden, claim that the bill would allow higher-income Americans to avoid paying taxes and would increase the national debt.”
___________________ It’s pretty clear that the Trump Admin is trying to break our government. My personal angst is just a small example of how they can do it. As I’ve written before, it’s a vicious self-fulfilling cycle: Republicans tell people gov’t is bad and can do no good - Republicans ensure gov’t doesn’t work for people - Republicans blame Democrats for bad gov’t - Rinse and repeat. We need to find a way to break this cycle. Aaaaggggghhhh. Time for a hike… |
