Back Taxes Owed
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https://www.nysun.com/article/released-hostages-slammed-with-unexpected-irs-bills-and-late-fees
Imagine being held hostage in a foreign land and returning home to America after release only to find the Internal Revenue Service has billed you for thousands of dollars in unpaid taxes, along with late fees, interest, and penalties.
That was the startling reality encountered recently by former hostages Evan Gerhskovich, Paul Whelan, and Vladimir Kara-Murza, who were released from detention in Russia in August, Reason reports. The men reported facing a slew of financial issues upon their return, including tax charges and credit hits resulting from bills they were unable to pay while imprisoned.
“I got one of those bills from the IRS saying, you owe this much on this year, you owe this much on this year because of failure to pay on time — here’s the interest that’s accrued,” a former hostage who is a Washington Post reporter, Jason Rezaian, told NPR. Mr. Rezaian faced more than $6,000 in fees for unpaid taxes following his release after 544 days of detention in Iran. “This is an oversight that nobody really thought about.”
According to NPR, there are currently between 40 and 60 American nationals illegally detained by other nations. Many will likely return to America only to be met with surprising financial penalties tied to their unjust imprisonment.
The IRS asserts that it lacks the legal authority to waive tax fees for returning hostages. However, legislative changes could be on the horizon. Earlier this year, Senator Coons of Delaware introduced the Stop Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act, a bill that would mandate the IRS exempt hostages from tax liability during their detainment.
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Always remember, Operation Valkyrie was an act of sedition.
Warning: I post things that interest me. Read and comment at your own discretion. -
I would think/hope a phone call would solve this.
I am sure the credit, taxes, etc are all automated and if someone misses a payment or taxes, it immediately sends out a notice.
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@taiwan_girl said in Back Taxes Owed:
I would think/hope a phone call would solve this.
You hope the IRS would solve this?
The IRS asserts that it lacks the legal authority to waive tax fees for returning hostages.
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This is not uncommon that some situation no one envisioned when the legislation was written forces an agency to act in a way that breeches common sense but the agency has no authority to selectively ignore the law.
Our own bill I’ve been pushing is like this though to a less obvious extent.
Hopefully congress will fix this.
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@taiwan_girl said in Back Taxes Owed:
I would think/hope a phone call would solve this.
After the IRS looks bad in national news. That's what it takes.
Please love yourself.
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@Aqua-Letifer said in Back Taxes Owed:
@taiwan_girl said in Back Taxes Owed:
I would think/hope a phone call would solve this.
After the IRS looks bad in national news. That's what it takes.
Yup. Usually the case.
Governement organization (or company, etc.) treats a person bad. Nothing is done. Story gets on the news. Same organization or company suddenly is able to "solve" the problem.
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@jon-nyc said in Back Taxes Owed:
I suspect they’re correct in saying the law doesn’t allow them to make unilateral exceptions to tax penalties except under prescribed circumstances.
That doesn't exempt them from doing it.
