It happened again.
A-friggin-gain!!!!
On Friday a corporate client of mine wrote me the following email after she received a visit from an IRS collection agent:
Well he came and went. He told me that I shouldn’t have hired an attorney and wanted to know how much I paid Mr. Pappas.
He then began interrogating me and asking me detailed questions about my intentions, my finances and how I came to own the business.
I repeatedly told him that I was represented by an attorney and he continued to say that I didn’t need one and that I should not have hired one.
I felt intimidated and frightened so I tried as best as I could to answer his questions.
If that isn’t bad enough, he also proceeded to give her substantive legal advice (he is, of course, not a lawyer and even if he were he would, even to my 14 year old niece. have a glaringly obvious conflict of interest:
He told me that I should leave the keys to my business under the door mat and walk away from it. He then began advising me on what I should do about filing a legal claim against the people I bought the company from.
This is Not an Isolated Incident
I have written about the IRS’s deplorable failure to honor a taxpayer’s right to representation ad nauseum at:
- Grading the IRS on the Declaration of Taxpayer Rights
- IRS Regularly Tells Taxpayers Not to Hire an Attorney
- IRS Has Zero Tolerance Taxpayer Harassment Policy, But is it Enforced?
- 10 Things the IRS Won’t Tell You (and 5 they will)
Also, the denial of an IRS agent to comply with a taxpayer’s right to counsel was the impetus behind New Jersey tax lawyer, Robert Kenny’s filing of 3 TIGTA complaints against the agent.
Mr Kenny was then investigated by the Office of Professional Responsibility.
No word as to whether the agent Mr. Kenny had complained about received even so much as a private reprimand.
The Background of the Case
A few points about this case before I get to the petition:
- I had a duly filed power of attorney on file with the CAF.
- The agent knew the taxpayer was represented by counsel.
- The agent, in our several conversations about the taxpayer, never questioned her hiring of counsel, nor did he ever ask us how much she had paid for our services.
- We had maintained regular contact with the agent and promptly responded to his requests for information.
- Prior to the agent being assigned the case we had sent the IRS Automated Collection System (ACS) a detailed request for an installment agreement together with the required detailed financial statement and supporting documentation.
- We spoke with the collection agent and authorized him to visit our client’s place of business only for the purpose of taking a routine physical inventory of business assets.
I feel a wrenching in my gut as I write this.
The actions of this agent, although not unique, are an egregious and unforgivable violation of the Taxpayer Bill of Rights and the IRS’ Declaration of Rights which state,
You have the right to appear yourself before the IRS or have someone else represent you in your place.
Your representative must be a person that is approved to appear before the IRS, namely an enrolled agent, an attorney or a CPA.
If you are in an interview and you ask to consult with such a person, the IRS must stop the interview and allow you time to talk to the person or to re-schedule the interview.
Letter to Commissioner Doug Shulman and Taxpayer Advocate, Nina Olson
I will be writing a detailed letter addressed to the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, Doug Shulman, and National Taxpayer Advocate, Nina Olson, with a copy to the following individuals:
- Treasury Secretary, Timothy Geithner
- House Ways & Means Chairman, Charles Rangel (D-NY)
- Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL)
The letter will address this specific case and the more than a dozen similar cases I have had the misfortune of being involved in where an IRS official attempted to illegally ignore or bypass my power of attorney and poison the relationship between my client and me.
The actions of a lowly field collection agent are merely a symptom of a much larger, systemic problem: Namely, a “corporate” culture at the IRS that places little or no value on a taxpayer’s express right to counsel.
Something must be done about this.
Join Us
I urge anyone who has had a similar experience in dealing with the IRS officials to come forward and join me as a signatory to this letter.
I only want individuals who have had direct, personal experiences with the IRS’s failure to honor a taxpayer’s right to counsel.
No second-hand, hearsay stories.
In the next few weeks I will publish a draft letter to Commissioner Shulman and Taxpayer Advocate Olson here.
Please review it, give me your comments and tell me whether or not you wish to sign it.
We have to stop this nonsense.
10 responses so far ↓
1 David Shulman // Mar 28, 2009 at 9:00 am
Outrageous.
I just linked to your story on my blog.
http://www.sofloridaestateplanning.com/2009/03/articles/irs-1/outrageous-and-illegal-behavior-by-irs-agent/
2 Update on the Tax Lawyer’s Petition to Commissioner on IRS Right to Counsel Abuses // Apr 3, 2009 at 5:17 pm
[...] Last week I told you that I
3 The Tax Lawyer’s Letter to IRS Commissioner Shulman on IRS Abuse of Right to Taxpayer Counsel // Apr 13, 2009 at 3:26 pm
[...] my previous post titled The Tax Lawyer to Petition IRS Commissioner re: Taxpayer Right to Representation
4 Christa Cordtz // Jun 15, 2009 at 8:53 pm
Yes , everyone SHOULD have the right to counsel. Even the most vile serial killer is provided with such.
However , in the case of dealing with the IRS, those of us with limited income are left to blow in the wind alone. In the county where I live there is not ONE LITC or probono to turn to.
My husband committed suicide and left me with a tax mess and I do not even have the rights of a common criminal and have been treated as such by the IRS. I have been threatened , called a criminal and repeatedly lied to, bank account levied without a notice and a lien filed while still in Appeals.
WHERE IS THE JUSTICE?!!!
5 Tax Lawyer Gets Response to Letter to Commissioner Re: IRS Disregard of Right to Counsel // Jul 21, 2009 at 1:53 am
[...] is an excerpt from a blog post I wrote several months ago describing the conduct of an IRS agent that had prompted me to write a [...]
6 John Smith // Oct 23, 2009 at 5:38 pm
On 9-11-2009, IRS counsel was served with my Petition by the U.S. Tax Court. I understand that IRS must file an “Answer” within 60 days. I sent to the IRS counsel several packages with information and documents hoping we can settle my case sooner. He has not even called my by phone. The 60 days are up on 11-11-2009. My tax examination like thousands of others was examined by an IRS rogue revenue agent. I filed several complaints with TIGTA and my local US senator. Even a top TIGTA manager lied to this US senator about my case. I can see that we are experiencing what we went through in the early 1980s. For some reason, IRS and TIGTA believe they are above the law. The U.S. District Courts and other appellate federal courts are not elping either. When a taxpayer has a legitimate complaint, he/she is labeled, a tax protestor, someone who just copy a template from the Internet etc. I still waiting to see when a taxpayer will ever win a lawsuit filed for unalwful collection practices.
7 A Good Blog to Visit « Taxable Talk // Oct 25, 2009 at 11:33 pm
[...] someone the IRS is supposed to talk to me, not them. I’ve seen some pretty ugly things, but the story Mr. Pappas tells is bad. Unfortunately, I don’t expect anything to change—I guess I’m just too cynical. [...]
8 Update on IRS Compensated Audits // Nov 17, 2009 at 1:37 pm
[...] [...]
9 Taxpayers Have Right to Counsel but IRS Can Punish Naughty Counsel // Dec 15, 2009 at 1:05 am
[...] is one of the reasons I believe the IRS pays only lip service to taxpayers’ right to representation and why it’s agents regularly engage in conduct that diminishes that right. IRS officials [...]
10 Stacey Jensen // Feb 28, 2011 at 2:23 pm
The IRS breached all of my family and my personal informtion to a stranger. I have proof the IRS has apologized over and over. This does not give me a piece of mind. I am terrified we will become victims of identity theft. I have know idea where to go for help.
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