FairTax.org - so simple, so effective. And so hated, especially by those who haven't studied it.

When it comes to the IRS the real issue is the overabundance of power that it has. An IRS audit strikes almost as much fear in the average citizen as a visit by the Gestapo did in Germany. Powerful corporations have all kinds of lawyers and accountants, and the officers are set up so that no responsibility can be laid in their laps. Not so with Mr or Ms. Public. They, for the most part, are aware that guilty or innocent, the IRS can destroy their lives to the point where they can never be recovered. That's why it must go and all the other reasons are dwarfed in comparison.

Let's repeal Amendment #16.

Politicians love to be able to use the tax code to selectively reward some, and penalize others, often in an under the radar way that would never pass inspection if made transparent. I don't think its likely the state will make taxation simple and transparent. Not happening.

Yes, and the IRS, Banks, you and me cannot STOP the intrusion if we give out our information to other people who are smart enough to piece it all together.

Give people your username and password then blame the bank for not protecting you. hhheheh,.

Indeed. There is zero accountability. Time to clean house!

All the more reason to keep this in the news and promote responses from the masses. What would you do to help keep people focused on the issue in order to keep up the pressure on congress to reform taxation in such a way that individual taxpayers can retain their anonymity?

What, if anything, would you do to use this to initiate a national campaign to pressure congress to immediately begin work on new methods of taxation?

I didn't have much input on jbrenner's post on accelerating "stopping the motor of the world" (http://www.galtsgulchonline.com/posts/31...), because I'm not on board with forcing the issue whether it is sabotage or not. The premise that large numbers of people can "resonate" with a cause is fairly self-evident, however. Restructuring taxation 1. to make it constitutional (income tax never was), and 2. to make it anonymous to individuals, seems like a cause that most individuals could resonate with. In modern layman's terms, the right messages in the right places at the right times could go viral.

Very good, and I believe an Objectivist viewpoint. Wondering if this has been being done on purpose, after all they need to expand government to accommodate this, and expand it more to monitor our credit for our safety, and of course they now can track everything we spend and what we spend it on. Not to many years back I would have dismissed this kind of idea as paranoid.

Agreed in part... They needed Name, filing status, SSN, & a few bits of information about your history (previous address or the like). What they got from that, however, was all of the information on your previous returns - bank names, investment brokerages, employment information, and everything else that is included in your tax documents. All of that was needed to generate legitimate looking tax documents in order to steal refunds where possible. In essence, their databases grew significantly in accuracy, thus making future attempts at identity theft much more likely of succeeding.

And if this happen to a private company they would be sued, there would be congressional investigations, and possibly criminal charges.

And zero intrusion by the plantation's bullying and now proven corrupt dismissed overseer.

Since taxation has nothing to do with improving the lives of the general population and everything to do with improving the lifestyles of the governing population, why would this prompt any transition? What do the lives of 100,000 people mean when set against the good of the whole? A slight speed bump in the marketing road of feigned benevolence.

First the IRS was not hacked. As much as I dislike them this was not an IRS breach.

This was a case of individuals who lost their own personal information allowing thieves to access their refund information.

If I hacked YOUR computer, stole your identity info, and records of your previous years tax information , I can also log into the IRS and "steal" your refund. This is not a failure of the IRS, so much as a failure or people protecting their own information.

I know. :) This is one of the greatest benefits of the Fair tax. Less bean-counting... more privacy and personal security.

Free credit monitoring. From the IRS. Talk about two wolves and a sheep arguing over what's for lunch.

Have you ever noticed how it reads when you take the space out from between "THE" and "IRS"?

Sounds like if you're one of the 104,000, you might be given free credit monitoring by the IRS (a.k.a. yourself as a taxpayer).

They are mailing 200,000 taxpayers in response to the hack (on our dime of course). They are planning to offer free credit monitoring services to the 104,000 (on our dime of course). I hope this prompts a huge public response and massive pressure to change.

I'd like to think that if nothing else, then on the pretense of benevolence in light of this massive breach, many of our politicians will be open to alternative methods of taxation that allow us to maintain our anonymity. When I pay state sales tax, I don't give anyone any data that could be used in the theft of my identity.

What would it take to reignite a movement to abolish the IRS by using this as the launching point? Isn't the special interest group in this case every taxpayer?

104,000 that they're admitting to. I think if the last few years have taught us anything about the IRS it is that the agency is a tool of political expediency and will never admit to the whole truth of a matter. Lois Lerner is the obvious case that leaps Immeiately to mind...lie through her teeth, refuse to answer to Congress, then retire with a nice, cozy, six figure income.

Just add this to the information stolen on the Obamacare sites, and those records stolen with the compliance of the Medical Records collection Act. That should make just about everyone in the US that has had their records stolen. Thats the bad.
The good is that all you have to do to minimize it is a small amount of work. Balance your bank accounts every month along with your credit cards and check your credit for free three times a year. Here is my tip: You get to pull a free credit report from all three agencies every year, but you don't have to pull them at the same time. I pull mine three times a year for free.

Hello Wonky,
And they want us to trust the IRS to control and access our health records and system...
We are doomed.
O.A.