UH, OH, THE IRS WANTS TO FIND TAX CHEATERS ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Wow, but a lot has changed since the days of Al Capone. So now we know that the IRS is hoping to investigate tax cheaters who are on social media. But that’s not just rumor. It’s because of a request on a post on FedBizOpps, the federal government’s procurement website. So how can this be? Well, it’s simple, really. The IRS is so short-handed it’s almost like someone wanted the agency to be crippled. No, really. What was it again? Shrink the government down till it can fit in a tub and then drown it? Well, for the IRS, that’s very nearly true.
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SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS NOW CONNECT TO ONLINE SHOPPING
The post alludes to this, explaining how the IRS hopes to investigate possible cheaters using their use of social media. I know, it sounds a little weird. But what does make sense is people’s shopping patterns, especially on online stores. But don’t worry, you nefarious citizens. So far, the IRS has no “formal tool.” And as of now, IRS agents (the ones we still actually have employed) are mostly not allowed from accessing “publicly available information on social media sites.”
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MAYBE EVERYONE SHOULD CLEAN UP THEIR ONLINE ACCOUNTS, REDUCE DATA FOOTPRINT
Quartz first noticed this posted request. It also remembered that many have suspected the IRS of mining people’s data on social media for some time. But the IRS’s post did mention that if they do get access to such an investigatory tool, they would not use it to “cultivate new auditing leads.” I’m dubious about that, myself. So far, the government shutdown has not made any IRS spokesperson available to comment on this or any other matter. So be careful out there, especially if the out there is your social media accounts. To date, we don’t expect much privacy when it comes to social media. But law enforcement agencies want bigger and finer toothed combs to sift thru it. So even if you aren’t up to no good, maybe reduce your virtual footprint.
