Watchdog Faults IRS over Star Trek Video, Luxury Hotel Suites by Jongsstraw

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Watchdog Faults IRS over Star Trek Video, Luxury Hotel Suites

POSTED BY: JONGSSTRAW
UPDATED: Thursday, June 6, 2013 11:52
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Tuesday, June 4, 2013 12:20 PM

Tuesday, 04 Jun 2013 12:12 PM

A spoof Star Trek video and lavish hotel suites for government workers were singled out on Tuesday by a government watchdog in criticizing the U.S. Internal Revenue Service's conference planning and budgeting from 2010 through 2012.
In a report that the IRS has already acknowledged as pointing out "inappropriate" spending, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) faulted the agency specifically for a 2010 conference in Anaheim, California, that cost $4.1 million.

Some of the funding for the conference came from unused monies originally intended for hiring enforcement employees, TIGTA chief J. Russell George said in the report.

"Certain of the IRS's expenses associated with the Anaheim conference do not appear to be a good use of taxpayer funds," said George, whose watchdog office has played a key role in the controversy that engulfed the IRS more than three weeks ago.

Amid allegations that it unfairly targeted conservative political activists' applications for tax-exempt status for extra scrutiny, the IRS has seen its top executive ousted by President Barack Obama and its reputation damaged.

Also Tuesday, conservative political activists told a House of Representatives committee in emotional testimony that their groups were targeted by the IRS over the years.

At the fifth hearing in the past two weeks on the issue, House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp, a Republican, said the IRS three years ago began targeting taxpayers based on their political beliefs.

"What we still need to find out, is just how widespread this activity was, who ordered it and why it began," Camp said.

The TIGTA report was slated to be the topic of another hearing scheduled for Thursday. Excerpts of the report were leaked in recent days.

The report found that the IRS spent $50,187 on videos for the Anaheim conference in 2010, including a Star Trek parody that featured IRS executives portraying characters from the television show in a tax-themed skit.

The IRS told TIGTA that the purpose of the video was to highlight issues facing the Small Business/Self Employed Division of the agency, according to the report.

The report said hotel suites were occupied by IRS executives at the conference. The division's commissioner, for example, stayed five nights in a suite with a private bedroom, living area, conference table, wet bar, and billiard table, it said.

IRS Acting Commissioner Danny Werfel told a congressional panel on Monday he would clean up the agency, including potentially firing those responsible for using terms such as "Tea Party" and "patriot" to help sift through tax-exempt status applications for extra scrutiny.

Congressional committees are in full investigatory mode, with at least three demanding reams of emails, correspondence and other documents from the IRS.
http://www.newsmax.com/Headline/watchdog-irs-video-conference/2013/06/
04/id/507953

$90 million for bonuses, $50 million for conferences ...all with US Taxpayer money. Just disgusting. At least after this year, the IRS won't be holding my money any more. And it'll be a cold day in Hades when I send them another dime.

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Tuesday, June 4, 2013 12:23 PM

AURAPTOR

America loves a winner!

I hear Atlanta got a boat load of that $. Most of which likely ended up in many of the fine 'Gentlemen's ' clubs, around the city.

*EDIT* - Seems like the same not-ready-for-prime-time actors are in both vids...

Fathom the hypocrisy of a government that requires every citizen to prove they are insured... but not everyone must prove they are a citizen

Resident USA Freedom Fundie

" AU, that was great, LOL!! " - Chrisisall

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Wednesday, June 5, 2013 1:45 PM

AURAPTOR

America loves a winner!

i'm surprised there's no comment by Chrissy on the Trek video.

Well, not that surprised.

There's also this gem...

Yay! Fun at the IRS!!

Fathom the hypocrisy of a government that requires every citizen to prove they are insured... but not everyone must prove they are a citizen

Resident USA Freedom Fundie

" AU, that was great, LOL!! " - Chrisisall

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Wednesday, June 5, 2013 4:01 PM

GEEZER

Keep the Shiny side up

A suspicious person would consider that this report might have been released at this time to draw attention away from the Tax Exempt Division's targeting of conservative organizations, and the disclosure of their filings to the media, in contravention of IRS regulations.

"When your heart breaks, you choose what to fill the cracks with. Love or hate. But hate won't ever heal. Only love can do that."

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Wednesday, June 5, 2013 4:09 PM

AURAPTOR

America loves a winner!

Quote:
Originally posted by Geezer:
A suspicious person would consider that this report might have been released at this time to draw attention away from the Tax Exempt Division's targeting of conservative organizations, and the disclosure of their filings to the media, in contravention of IRS regulations.

"When your heart breaks, you choose what to fill the cracks with. Love or hate. But hate won't ever heal. Only love can do that."

Distract the public. Spread the attention out, make a single target more obscure and harder to hit.

Fathom the hypocrisy of a government that requires every citizen to prove they are insured... but not everyone must prove they are a citizen

Resident USA Freedom Fundie

" AU, that was great, LOL!! " - Chrisisall

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Wednesday, June 5, 2013 5:01 PM

JONGSSTRAW

Today Greg Gutfeld suggested that all the IRS people who participated in the $50 million tax dollar spending orgy have THEIR WAGES GARNISHED and put into a special fund until the debt was entirely repaid....with interest of course.

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Wednesday, June 5, 2013 5:20 PM

1KIKI

Goodbye, kind world (George Monbiot) - In common with all those generations which have contemplated catastrophe, we appear to be incapable of understanding what confronts us.

"Today Greg Gutfeld suggested that all the IRS people who participated in the $50 million tax dollar spending orgy have THEIR WAGES GARNISHED and put into a special fund until the debt was entirely repaid....with interest of course."

Yes, because they determine spending policies.

You are getting stupider by the day.

ENJOY YOUR NEXT FOUR YEARS!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA - HERE'S LAUGHING AT YOU KID!

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Wednesday, June 5, 2013 10:36 PM

MAGONSDAUGHTER

Do you think you could keep all your hatred for IRS on the one thread.

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Thursday, June 6, 2013 12:20 AM

AURAPTOR

America loves a winner!

Quote:
Originally posted by Magonsdaughter:
Do you think you could keep all your hatred for IRS on the one thread.

Why ?

Fathom the hypocrisy of a government that requires every citizen to prove they are insured... but not everyone must prove they are a citizen

Resident USA Freedom Fundie

" AU, that was great, LOL!! " - Chrisisall

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Thursday, June 6, 2013 10:05 AM

GEEZER

Keep the Shiny side up

Quote:
Originally posted by Magonsdaughter:
Do you think you could keep all your hatred for IRS on the one thread.

If we can get Niki2 to keep her hatred of Conservatives to one thread, I'd take that deal.

"When your heart breaks, you choose what to fill the cracks with. Love or hate. But hate won't ever heal. Only love can do that."

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Thursday, June 6, 2013 11:52 AM

MAGONSDAUGHTER

Quote:
Originally posted by Geezer:

If we can get Niki2 to keep her hatred of Conservatives to one thread, I'd take that deal.

Well she probably could keep right winged loony stuff to one thread. It'd be a long one though ;)

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