(Newswire.net — June 7, 2013) Portland, OR — It’s not a new idea but it was most recently brought to light again by the admission by the IRS that it had targeted tea party groups during the application process for tax exempt status. The service admitted that agents had selected organizations for special scrutiny simply based on the terms such as “patriot” or tea party. IRS officials did apologize for this targeting, insisting that it was only a handful of employees at one office who did it without authorization. Several watchdog groups suggest otherwise.
But the larger question remains “Are you being spied on in your social network?”
This particular issue does call into question the claim that the IRS doesn’t “surf” social networking sites to select taxpayers for their next audit (examination if you prefer). When several media outlets reported that indeed the IRS does stalk online, agency officials poo-pooed the suggestion.
But on closer examination, the IRS did not flatly deny that it uses available tools on the Internet to gather personal information on taxpayers who are under investigation. So if you are selected for audit, then you should assume that the auditor assigned to you has indeed Googled you, perused personal profiles that you’ve created using your real name and may have even become one of your Facebook friends using their own fictitious profile.
While it may seem such an obvious thing to just simply quit – or at least reduce – from using your real name on the internet, the reality remains that it is really hard to do. We all want to stay connected and keep up with the happenings of family and friends. But if you want to be connected that way, then you should also think carefully about what your share online and especially when it pertains to personal finance, possessions and yes, your political viewpoint.
Even if an IRS agent doesn’t actively persecute a taxpayer based on their beliefs, there is still the potential for prejudice and bias in subtle unpredictable ways by the agent.
If you think that you have nothing to hide, posting something that invites scrutiny could still give you major headaches during an audit. Don’t forget. When it comes to the IRS, you are guilty until you prove otherwise. If you can’t prove the numbers are correct on a line item, then you are presumed wrong and vilified, even if you did everything correct to the best of your ability.
The one main problem is that no one fully understands the tax code! There are thousands of pages of code assigning obligations to us anytime we enter into a financial transaction. The code is not written for the normal human to understand, grasp and follow. Complying with the code is nearly impossible and the outlook for any future understanding is bleak.
One of the framers of the Constitution, James Madison, penned “It will be of little avail to the people that the laws are made by men of their own choice if the laws be so voluminous that they can be read, or so incoherent that they cannot be read, or so incoherent that they cannot be understood… that no man, who knows what the law is today, can guess what it will be tomorrow“.
Looks like we may have dropped the ball on that idea.
So all we are left to do is try to stay within the limits of the law as we understand it…today.
But with all that said, here are some things that you should avoid talking about online. When you read them you may say “does anyone really do that”? The short answer… yep!
- Safety deposit boxes and whatever they may be holding.
- Big ticket purchases like boats, sports cars, airplanes, jewelry, etc.
- Offshore banks or trusts.
- Membership in or support of “Tea Party”, “Sovereign Citizen”, “Patriot” or the like.
- Anti-tax or tax protest arguments or affiliations
- Anything else that in your personal life that is really your own business.
An additional side benefit.
Improved family relations and the reduction of risk in attracting burglars and con artists.
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Author: Google+ Jan Johansen