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So? What does that matter? The point is that it happens over and over again, and yet nothing is done to those who abuse the public trust. In fact, many of the main abusers get bonuses, get promoted even. The Civil Service laws and the structure of the bureaucracy protect them, and they think they are above the law. The only reason we found out about the targeting of conservative groups was that they got so arrogant that they went too far to be able to hide it, [100%?!?] and even so it took a long time to come out. Heck, we had people on this board complaining about the process for a couple of years now, and their complaints were pretty much 'blown off' by our liberal members for quite a while. As for the abuse of the taxpayer's money for excessive conference expenses, etc, we've been hearing about it for several years, and they did pull back some thanks to the exposure of some of the trips [remember the hot-tub pic?] but this latest report shows it is still happening, just not quite as extreme as in the past. But as long as no one gets fired, and no one goes to jail, not even the guy in the hot tub, we won't see them truly clean up their acts. I don't care whether they are Dems or Republicans, those who abuse their positions should have to pay a price. More than just a momentary embarrassment.

For reference: Thomas Paine's "Common Sense," in its entirety: http://www.earlyamerica.com/earlyamerica/milestones/commonsense/text.html However, Taxed consistently refused to comprehend that this country is NOT a democracy; it is a Constitutional Republic. There is a substantial difference between the two! The Declaration of Independence (part of the "organic laws" of the country) clearly states that the sole legitimate purpose of government is to secure our rights (rights, endowed by our Creator, not separable (unalienable), not dependent upon any government or government document for existence, not dependent upon any other person to provide). That's it -- no other reason or purpose. See for yourself: http://www.ushistory.org/Declaration/document/ We, as humans (and as you stated earlier, JohnH), have our own obligations to take care of the poor and infirm. My position, after years of analysis *begun from a very liberal - almost socialist - viewpoint* which changed reluctantly but wildly upon examination of hard evidence, is that it is both impossible (on a practical level) and immoral (on a personal level) to attempt to foist on to the government those tasks which belong to us as individuals. I go into this in depth in some of my writings, and will not re-create those here. In brief: Impossible because no bureaucracy can actually do the job, and the bigger the bureaucracy the _worse_ job they ultimately do (those who deserve help don't get it; those who don't deserve it, do get it); Immoral because we cannot actually out-source our own obligations -- yet act (far too often) as though we can.

Please go back to page 1 of Common Sense 101 and re-read in its entirety. You're badly misunderstanding the content.

Very simple if you apply even a rudimentary understanding of the facts. Your last statement tells me you don't know the difference between verbal equivalence and moral equivalence. I can do my research and choose which corporations I invest in. If I still make a mistake and buy Monsanto, I can sell my shares and choose someone to manage my investment elsewhere. None of that applies with the US government. Monsanto can't force me to invest in their enterprise - the US government can and does. Monsanto can't use the power of the state to seize my earnings, waste what they wish, and give much of the rest to others whom they believe are "more deserving'. Incidentally, I have a moral obligation to help others, but by attempting to make that decision for me, the government robs me of the ability to be a good steward of the resources I have available. There are certain jobs only government can do well. It has an obligation to do them and we should pay taxes to support them. Social engineering does not fall into that category. Any more questions, or do you need to pull out your Economics 101 book so we can have an intelligent discussion about this?

It doesn't matter the Administration. It just matters that they start doing something about it. If you watched the linked video, you see where this guy goes from $250,000 in annual revenue to $500,000,000. That is amazing. If you look at the iRS, budget, it would be $12b. So that $500m would be 4.1 % of the total IRS budget. And if you review the operation and support line item, you have $4.083B so he gets 12% of that. http://www.treasury.gov/about/budget-performance/Documents/CJ_FY2012_IRS_508.pdf He may be the most wonderful provider in the world. But he fudged a non-military injury to claim to be a "war disabled veteran" and he never served in uniform. Sorry. It smells and it smells bad. Set asides have their uses. but this is fraud. Rich

Shareholder money is voluntarily invested in the company. Taxpayer money is confiscated from hard-working citizens by the power of the state. Even if there were any equivalence in the two types of waste, there's a huge difference between the two for anyone who cares enough to think through it.

Bulls___

In yet another example of how endless political scandals aren’t just quirks of the Obama administration, but are rather symptoms of any big government in action, this is how the IRS tax mafia “respects” your hard-earned dollars: A small technology contractor that won more than $500 million in Internal Revenue Service awards in less than a year had a “cozy” relationship with an agency official, according to a congressional staff report. Greg Roseman, an IRS deputy director, may have “influenced the selection process” to benefit his friend, Braulio Castillo, president of Washington-based Strong Castle Inc., according to the House committee document. The two exchanged frequent phone calls and text messages, the report shows. The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, led by Representative Darrell Issa, a California Republican, is investigating how the small business, formed in late 2011, managed to attract so much contract business. The House oversight committee needs to do more than just be a watchdog, it needs to be an attack dog. Lock people up, criminalize the behavior of those you can’t lock up, and stop the chatter already. http://www.ijreview.com/2013/06/61627-scandalmania-500-million-in-government-bids-given-to-irs-agents-buddy/?utm_source=EmailElect&utm_medium=Email&utm_content=Subscriber%2319098&utm_campaign=06-26-2013%20IJ%20Review

It is so hot here today... I saw two beagles chasing a rabbit and they were all three walking....

So here I drop in to see what's happening on the ATX Forum and a corny joke pops out at me....

Its just like this latest tidbit from the Congressional hearings. Dems tried to say that liberal groups were also targeted. Here's what the IRS investigator said about that. In response to Levin's queries, George responded on Wednesday that the term "progressives" appeared in a section of the BOLO spreadsheet labeled "Historical," and, unlike other BOLO entries, did not include instructions on how to handle cases that met the "progressive" criteria. George indicated that numbers tell the story: "Based on the information you flagged regarding the existence of a 'Progressives' entry on BOLO lists, TIGTA performed additional research which determined that six tax-exempt applications filed between May 2010 and May 2012 having the words "progress" or "progressive" in their names were included in the 298 cases the IRS identified as potential political cases. We also determined that 14 tax-exempt applications filed between May 2010 and May 2012 using the words "progress" or "progressive" in their names were not referred for added scrutiny as potential political cases. In total, 30 percent of the organizations we identified with the words "progress" or "progressive" in their names were processed as potential political cases. "In comparison, our audit found that 100 percent of the tax-exempt applications with Tea Party, Patriots, or 9/12 in their names were processed as potential political cases during the timeframe of our audit." Folks, 30% may be a reasonable percentage, no way is 100% reasonable. I also wonder if any of those six liberals groups are still, two + years later, still waiting for a determination? I do know a lot more than six of the conservative groups are still waiting.

I wish you lefties would refrain from checking your brain in at the door when you enter a discussion beyond political rhetoric. This is not about who done what back when, but how we have progressed into a totalitarian state and who is doing who now! I realize that you libs are not big fans of capitalism, but would you rather live in the authoritarian regimes of Cuba and North Korea? If so, I may buy you a one-way ticket to the country of your choice providing the stock market (DJIA) increases by 500 points tomorrow. Capitalistic Pig.

It makes me sick.

TOP TEN MOST RIDICULOUS ITEMS PURCHASED WITH IRS CREDIT CARDS Item #1: “Nerf Footballs” IRS employees used their credit card to purchase $119 worth of Nerf footballs that were intended to be used for a “team-building exercise.” As if that wasn’t bad enough, they never used the balls, which are “currently stored in a filing cabinet” somewhere in the bowels of the IRS. Item #2: “Related Alcohol Purchases” At one luncheon, IRS credit cards were used for “related alcohol purchases” including 28 bottles of wine—for 41 guests. As a bottle of wine contains about five servings, this equates to three and a half glasses of wine per person. YOLO! Item #3: “Thomas the Tank Engine Rubber Wristbands” For the child in all of us, the IRS purchased these for “managers’ meetings.” These were part of the “almost $4,000 in improper decorative and give-away items” that TIGTA found in their review. Item #4: World’s Largest Crossword Puzzle Along with some jigsaw puzzles, the IRS purchased the “world’s largest crossword puzzle.” These purchases cost $89 of taxpayer money. Hopefully the IRS actually used these in their “team building” activities — unlike those poor Nerf footballs. Item #5: “Plush Animals” Even IRS agents need a little love sometimes, which may be why plush animals were purchased with IRS credit cards as give away prizes. Who wouldn’t want to go home and squeeze their little teddy after a long day of harassing free-market grassroots groups? Item #6: “Bathtub Toy Boats” Another one of the “give-away items” at the IRS managers’ meetings were “bathtub toy boats”. The IRS spent $418 to purchase these, along with some other “improper decorative and give-away items.” Item #7: “Stove Top Hats” Not many people can pull off the hat like Abe Lincoln did, but that didn’t stop IRS agents from trying to outdo our 16th President. Stove top hats were purchased using an IRS credit card as yet another “give-away prize.” Item #8: “Kazoos” The IRS must enjoy the sound of Kazoos. They used your tax money for “novelty decorations and give-away items, such as kazoos” which were awarded as prizes during their managers’ meetings. Don’t you really wish you knew what went on in these meetings? Item #9: “Dinner at an approximate cost of $140 per person.” The report notes a “dinner at an approximate cost of $140 per person, four times the Federal Government per diem rate in Washington D.C.” At the time of this conference the per diem rate was $36 for dinner. Item #10: A $100 Per Person Lunch The IRS spent five times the Federal Government per diem rate of $18 when they bought lunch at $100 per guest. And they say there is no such thing as a free lunch. Even with a release of this report on the spend-thrift, fiscal insanity of the IRS, they are still granting employee bonuses totaling $70 million.

Ok, but then why bother to discuss or fix any problems, if all we do is reduce our conversations to "tit for tat" accusations.

In the mean time, do some of your own 'conversions' by entering some of your old 2012 clients as if you were just preparing a new return for 2012. It will let you see differences and give you good practice, and also give you a base of comparisons for when you do get the conversion program. You should then compare that client's 'converted' return to the one you did from scratch, to see if there were any problems or issues with the conversion. Why waste time on fake 'pratice' returns when you have your own files to produce useful practice returns that then have real 'comparative' value to you?

Phil Drake is a tea party bigot, and I won't support a company that is campaigning against my client base. Learning that bit of info cemented me against Drake.