 |
|
Nov. 20, 2009
Nov. 19, 2009
Jonathan Tobin: ADL Crosses the Line with Report Bashing Obama Critics
Nov. 18, 2009
JWisdom.com: The (Jewish) Dating Game
with Rabbi Lawrence Hajioff (8 minutes)
Nov. 17, 2009
Steven Emerson: How Does the 4th Amendment Impact Terror Finance Investigations?
JWisdom.com: If Frank Sinatra married Edith Piaf
with Rabbi Y.Y. Rubinstein (2 minutes) Life lessons from what would be regarded as the most inappropriate lyrics ever sung
Nov. 16, 2009
JWisdom.com: Deconstructing faith
with Rabbi Warren Goldstein (9 minutes)
Nov. 13, 2009
JWisdom.com Sarah's subjective reality
with Rabbi Sroy Levitansky ( 6 minutes)
Nov. 12, 2009
JWisdom.com Does God get tired?
with Rabbi Harvey Belovski ( 5 minutes)
Nov. 11, 2009
JWisdom.com Marriages are not made in Heaven
with Rabbi Lawrence Hajioff (VERY fast 15 minutes)
Nov. 10, 2009
Michael Doyle: Author of book exposing CAIR ordered to remove supporting documents from Web
JWisdom.com If the creation so loudly shouts the existence of the Creator, why aren't more people believers? with Rabbi Naftali Brawer (9 minutes)
Nov. 9, 2009
Mark Steyn: Shooter exposes hole
in U.S. terror strategy
JWisdom.com It's never too late to
have a happy childhood with Sarah Chana Radcliffe (5 minutes)
Nov. 6, 2009
JWisdom.com Zero to 1/60th: How
to Empower An Hour with Gavriel Aryeh Sande (7 minutes)
Nov. 5, 2009
JWisdom.com Hidden Hints: Unlocking
Faith & Prayer with Rabbi Jay Yaacov Schwartz (10 minutes)
Nov. 4, 2009
JWisdom.com When God played peacemaker
With Rabbi Sroy Levitansky (5 minutes)
Nov. 3, 2009
JWisdom.com Are you are closet idolater?
With Sara Yoheved Rigler (10 minutes)
Nov. 2, 2009
JWisdom.com Abraham's Strange Change
With Rabbi Yitzchok Fingerer (5 minutes)
|
| |
Jewish World Review
Oct. 25, 2007
/ 13 Mar-Cheshvan 5768
Owe The IRS? No Problem!
By
Lloyd Garver
| 
|
|
|
|
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
"If you owe the IRS lots of money, forget about it. We'll take care of it. We'll get them off your back. You won't have to pay all of what you owe. So, why should you pay what you really owe when our expert former IRS agents can negotiate a low settlement for you?"
The above is a paraphrase of the many commercials that I've been seeing on television lately. The premise is that through no fault of your own, you have failed to pay the taxes that you owe, and the mean and nasty IRS wants its money. There is no reason for you to despair, because there are companies who can help you negotiate a settlement with the government.
Online, you can see even more explicit ads:
"Ex-IRS Agents Solve IRS Problems Up To 99 percent Off Tax Debt."
"How To Settle With The IRS For Pennies On The Dollar."
"Average Savings of 90% On Taxes"
The people behind that last ad don't stand a chance. Why would I want to save only 90 percent on my taxes, if somebody else can save me 99 percent? They're actually advertising that some people can pay only 1 percent of what they owe. Do you think the place where you bought your car would make that kind of deal? Or how about the bank that holds the mortgage on your house? Somehow, I don't think if you gave them a check for 1 percent of what you owe, they'd say, "Congratulations! The house is yours now." So why is our government doing it?
I understand that people can get in financial trouble and have difficulty paying the taxes that they owe. I also understand the IRS working out a payment plan with these people so they can pay their taxes without ruining their lives. What I don't understand is why the government negotiates "settlements." Shouldn't people have to pay 100 percent of what they owe eventually?
Why should those of us - often with some difficulty and usually with some anger or, alas, sadness - have to pay 100 percent of what we owe, but those who have failed to meet their tax obligations get to pay less than what they owe? Again, I'm not talking about the family whose house burns down or whose breadwinner suddenly and tragically dies, leaving the family in financial chaos. I'm talking about people who just don't budget well, spend more than they earn, or simply have the attitude of, "Why should I pay taxes? What's the government done for me lately?" Why is the IRS rewarding people who are financially irresponsible?
The "forgiveness" that the government offers to some people is not necessarily a terrible concept. It's just applied to the wrong people. If you're going to give it, give it to those who went through Katrina or are victims of the current fires in California, or to those who have been fighting in Iraq, not to those who just feel that paying taxes isn't a high priority for them.
Or if the government is really intent on having a "sale" in which they mark down what they're charging people, shouldn't they be offering this discount to its good and loyal customers? Give a little break to those of us who pay our taxes every year. Why not? Some stores offer discounts and special sales to their good customers. And who's the owner of the corner drugstore more likely to take a few cents off an item for: the customer who always pays on time, or someone who hasn't paid for those glow-in-the-dark condoms for six months?
Just to be clear, it's the IRS that I'm blaming. I don't blame the people who want to pay as little as possible. We all would like to pay as little as possible. And I don't blame the companies who offer this service. I'm sure they are legitimate businesses.
However, I did see something surprising when I went online to check out one of these companies' Web sites. I'm no expert in advertising or marketing, but I just don't think I would've chosen the celebrity spokesperson that they picked. It's former baseball great Pete Rose. I'm not kidding. In case you're not familiar with Pete's tragic story, he spent five months in jail in 1990 for tax evasion.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
JWR contributor Lloyd Garver has written for many television shows, ranging from "Sesame
Street" to "Family Ties" to "Frasier." He has also read many books, some of
them in hardcover. Comment by clicking here. Visit his website by clicking here.
Archives
© 2007, Lloyd Garver
|
|
Arnold Ahlert
Mitch Albom
Michael Barone
Dave Barry
Tony Blankley
Andy Borowitz
David Broder
Stratfor Briefing
Mona Charen
Linda Chavez
Ann Coulter
Greg Crosby
Larry Elder
Suzanne Fields
John Fund
Frank J. Gaffney
Lloyd Garver
Jonah Goldberg
Julia Gorin
Jonathan Gurwitz
Paul Greenberg
Lewis Grossberger
Victor Davis Hanson
Betsy Hart
Nat Hentoff
David Horowitz
Laura Ingraham
Cheri Jacobus
Jeff Jacoby
Paul Johnson
Jack Kelly
Ed Koch
Ch. Krauthammer
Michael Ledeen
John Leo
David Limbaugh
Kathryn Lopez
Rich Lowry
Michelle Malkin
Jackie Mason
Dick Morris
Bill O'Reilly
Jim Mullen
Clarence Page
Kathleen Parker
Dennis Prager
Wesley Pruden
Tom Purcell
Jonathan Rauch
Celia Rivenbark
Robert Robb
Cokie & Steve Roberts
Pat Sajak
Debra J. Saunders
Culture Shlock
Roger Simon
Michael Smerconish
Thomas Sowell
Mark Steyn
John Stossel
Cal Thomas
Bob Tyrrell
Diana West
Dave Weinbaum
George Will
Walter Williams
Byron York
Mort Zuckerman
Robert Arial
Chuck Asay
Baloo
Chip Bok
Dry Bones
Lisa Benson
John Branch
Gary Brookins
John Cole
J. D. Crowe
John Deering
Brian Duffy
Everything's Relative
Mallard Fillmore
Jake Fuller
Bob Gorrel
Joe Heller
David Hitch
Jerry Holber
Steve Kelley
Jeff Koterba
Dick Locher
Chan Lowe
Ranan R. Lurie
Jimmy Margulies
Rick McKee
Michael Ramirez
Kevin Siers
Jeff Stahler
Ed Stein
Danna Summers
John Trever
Gary Varvel
Kirk Walters
How 2
Lori Borgman
The Savvy Consumer
Elder matters
Fixit
Dr. Peter Gott
GET A JOB! by Marty Nemko
Richard Lederer
Tech Maven
Every Monday Matters
Nutrition Myths
Bookmark These
Bruce Williams
How Stuff Works
|
