I.R.S. Deploys Artificial Intelligence to Target Rich Partnerships::The tax agency is opening examinations into large hedge funds, private equity groups, real estate investors and law firms.

  • Gork@lemm.ee
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    1 year ago

    How long until this technology is redirected from the hedge fund tax evaders and instead pointed towards the middle and working class?

    • ShittyBeatlesFCPres@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      The IRS never stopped going after middle and working class tax cheats. They stopped going after the very rich because their budget was cut to the bone and they couldn’t afford to fight a protracted lawsuit and possibly lose.

      The reason they’re going after them now is because funding the IRS, at least on paper, brings in more revenue. So, it was a way for the Senate to get the Inflation Reduction Act fully paid for without adding debt or changing tax rates. (Same with allowing Medicaid/Medicare negotiate prescription drug prices. There’s a lot of money in America’s couch cushions.)

      • fubo@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        They stopped going after the very rich because their budget was cut to the bone and they couldn’t afford to fight a protracted lawsuit and possibly lose.

        They stopped going after the very rich because they were tactically underfunded by a corrupt administration that explicitly wanted them to stop going after the very rich. That administration then got voted out of office, so the rules are different now.

        • Cethin@lemmy.zip
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          1 year ago

          You’re correct, but it didn’t happen under Trump. It was under Reagan I believe. It’s never been fixed.

    • there1snospoon@ttrpg.network
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      1 year ago

      Here’s the great thing: we don’t care, as long as the wealthy pay their share.

      This system is so broken it’s a wonder the guillotines haven’t made a comeback already.

      • gravitas_deficiency
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        1 year ago

        The guillotines haven’t made a comeback because nobody can get enough PTO together at one time to build one in a single sitting. Also, medical insurance is tied to our jobs, and it can quickly get financially crippling if you don’t have that.

      • Terrasque@infosec.pub
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        1 year ago

        This system is so broken it’s a wonder the guillotines haven’t made a comeback already.

        No one can afford guillotines in this economy

    • ChocoboRocket@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      I mean, they kind of already do that.

      All the taxes I manage to evade (buying/selling a couple hundred dollars worth of stuff from Kijiji/marketplace) wouldn’t really affect me.

      But scraping hedge funds and professional tax dodgers would put a ton of cash into public funds, so I’m all for it.

      Kind of hate that slippery slope argument of yours “if they can take millions from greedy billionaires, imagine how many millions they’ll take from you!” is a shit argument that defends serious tax evasion.

      First they came for the billionaires, and I did nothing, ‘cause fuck em’ that’s why.

      Eat the rich

      • cerevant@lemm.ee
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        1 year ago

        In Canada they definitely do - I was asked for verification on about half of my tax returns. One was a pretty big oops that I thought they might come down on me for.

        In the US, I think they are much more random with what they audit.

      • jrbaconcheese@yall.theatl.social
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        1 year ago

        Probably a good portion do it unintentionally, but the ROI would be really low: “hey Mr. Mechanic, you made a mistake and owe us $17”

        as opposed to “hey Mr. Hedge Fund Mgr, you made a ‘mistake’ and owe us $17,000”

      • Gork@lemm.ee
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        1 year ago

        Personally? None, at least none that care to admit it.

        But when companies like Amazon or Apple can get away with not paying taxes, then that means that the rest of us have to pay to pick up the slack.

      • DrPop@lemmy.one
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        1 year ago

        Tax evasion, no. Fraud oh yeah most definitely. This year’s current tax scheme is claiming the fuel tax credit, previously it was self employment COVID relief credits. The IRS is going after them and don’t trust tax preparers who say they can get you a much bigger refund. They usually are committing fraud.

      • solstice@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        You’d be surprised. Small business owners are notorious for running non-deductible personal expenses through their business for example when they really shouldn’t. Plus some super egregious stuff I can’t begin to get into here. It is trivially easy and the state/fed gov can’t begin to crack down for lack of resources. These are your tradesmen like plumbers and electricians, boutique shop owners, salons, food/catering, smaller self employed professionals like doctors, lawyers, therapists, dentists, etc. It’s sort of a grey area and there’s wiggle room for sure, and I try not to let my clients get away with all of it. But I do look the other way a lot and just plug my nose and sign it and push it through when I’m in a hurry, which is basically always. Some people are just maniacs though, it’s really staggering, idk how they sleep at night. Smaller numbers than a hedge fund manager making $50 mil, but it adds up real quick, and fraud is fraud IMO.