Taxpayers’ Growing Disrespect for the IRS

Re “Taxpayer Compliance Slips as Ire Replaces Fear of IRS,” April 14: I, too, had a normal citizen’s respect for the IRS until this summer, when I called the IRS in Denver for a tax-ID number. I called them in June because we were going to hire an employee in July. First, I was put on hold for at least an hour. Once I got through, I had to talk to two people to get a complete set of the proper forms. I was put on hold another hour, waiting to reach the second person. Both people I spoke with assured me I would have the forms within two weeks.

After six weeks had passed, I called the local IRS office in Long Beach to see if I could pick up the forms. A bored male voice assured me that the forms were available in their office. I sent my employee to the Long Beach office. He was treated with extraordinary rudeness. No forms were available.

In October, long after the first filing date for quarterly taxes, I received two tax-ID numbers, along with two complete sets of forms from the IRS. Although I have written repeatedly, I continue to receive two sets of paperwork from them with two separate tax-ID numbers, at regular intervals. I also received a letter from them demanding to know why I hadn’t filed quarterly taxes, now that they had sent me a number.

After my third letter to them, I received a letter stating that I had not paid taxes on $4,000 worth of income last year and I now owe them some incredible sum. Am I supposed to believe them? I wrote back and told them I’d like to see the evidence. I haven’t had a response yet (three months).

MARYANN MORRISON

Hermosa Beach

* To earn respect from others, you must give respect to others. When the IRS agent made an appointment with us, and then kept us waiting for over one hour, what does that tell you? Then he told us that he did not have my files, so he was not prepared to deal with us. After his supervisor told him to hold the meeting to determine what information he desired from me, he proceeded to treat us with nothing but disrespect, challenging everything we presented--while demonstrating his own incompetence. For example, he insisted that a bill from a company in Maryland was not allowable because MD stood for “medical doctor.”

It’s time to eliminate the IRS and replace it with a system that works better and more fairly. Perhaps the value-added tax proposal is a good idea.

GEORGE E. STONE

Los Angeles