When times are good and cash is flowing, Congress tends to pick on the IRS. Times, like now, when the government is out of money, Congress prefers to ignore any IRS pursuit of the public.
Look out, here comes the IRS.
To give you an idea of their added zeal, in 1999, the IRS issued 168,000 liens. Last year, in 2009, they issued 966,000. Your odds of hearing from the Internal Revenue Service have improved.
Here in Greensboro, Uncle Sam just put 20 more agents in the field. Timothy Geitner said the government is going to spend $250 million for tax compliance to generate $2 billion worth of revenue this year.
Right. According to the US Treasury, the IRS is going to spend $250 million going after people who have under-paid on their taxes and believe they will be able to raise an additional $2 billion from their efforts.
Publicly filed tax liens can destroy your credit as well as wreck careers and businesses. They can attach to your car, home, other real estate, even accounts receivables if you own a business. The IRS is ahead of anyone else who may file a lien against you.
Many employers use credit histories to screen applicants, even though credit reports are meant to determine credit-worthiness, not job-worthiness. Repossessions, collections, high credit card balances could cost you the job you want.
Recorded tax liens can seriously hinder your ability to earn a living, pay off your debts, even stay off government assistance! Once you do the right thing and pay off your tax lien, it can stay on your credit for 7 years.
This is not the news any of us wants to hear, however, our growing monetary deficit is pressuring the IRS to get even tougher.
If I can make a suggestion, pay your tax bills before you pay anything else.
