IRS to Obamacare Victims: You’re On Your Own, Chumps

The Obama administration’s relentless efforts to punish the American people for defying its wishes continue, as the Internal Revenue Service throws a massive temper tantrum about “budget cuts” and tells terrified Obamacare victims they’re on their own this tax season.

The Associated Press reports:

Filing a federal tax return is about to get more complicated for millions of families because of President Barack Obama’s health law. But they shouldn’t expect much help from the Internal Revenue Service.

Got a question for the IRS? Good luck reaching someone by phone. The tax agency says only half of the 100 million people expected to call this year will be able to reach a person.

Callers who do get through may have to wait on hold for 30 minutes or more to talk to someone who will answer only the simplest questions.

“Taxpayers who need help are not getting it, and tax compliance is likely to suffer over the longer term if these problems are not quickly and decisively addressed,” said a report Wednesday by agency watchdog Nina E. Olson.

IRS Commissioner John Koskinen says budget cuts are forcing the agency to reduce taxpayer services and other functions. The number of audits will decline, technology upgrades will be delayed and the agency might be forced to shut down and furlough workers for two days later this year, Koskinen said.

The IRS will no longer help low-income taxpayers fill out their returns, and tax refunds could be delayed for people who file paper returns.

“It couldn’t be worse timing,” Koskinen said of the budget cuts.

Oh, I disagree wholeheartedly, Mr. Koskinen. This is excellent timing to remind Americans of what a disaster Barack Obama dropped in their laps, how utterly callous and incompetent his administration has become, and what a sick tyrannical joke the American tax system has become.

It’s also a good idea to remind them that for all the velvet-glove rhetoric surrounded by Obamacare, it’s more of a mailed fist – it’s about control and punishment, not improving the efficiency or fiscal situation of the healthcare system. It was sold to the public as a largely voluntary system they’d be eager to willingly participate in, because it would be so awesome: “If you like your old plan, you can keep your plan; nobody is going to take it away from you, period.” The reality is mandates, punishment, and enforcement. IRS agents are more appropriate symbols of Obamacare than doctors in lab coats would be – if you could get an appointment. The only way to improve this timing further would be to officially reschedule Tax Day to fall within a week of Election Day.

This debacle also provides an excellent case for the long-overdue dismissal of Koskinen and everyone in his chain of command. If Koskinen’s response to losing $346 million out of an eleven billion dollar budget is to throw up his hands and say, “I give up! Taxpayers, you’re on your own,” he’s submitting his resignation, not setting policy. His successor should enter office with a healthy can-do spirit. If nothing else, maybe he or she will spend more time addressing the needs of taxpayers and less time figuring out ways to thwart congressional oversight.

If there’s someone out there who can manage the immense resources of the Internal Revenue Service in a manner that will efficiently service the needs of taxpayers, rather than terrorizing them in the pursuit of political agendas, I suggest the Republican Congress set about finding that new IRS commissioner without delay. President Obama loves to ignore the law and seize congressional powers; let’s return the favor and fix the IRS, since his administration has consistently demonstrated it cannot be trusted to do so.

Let’s make this disastrous tax season a teachable moment for the American people. They need to understand that Obama-style big government is eager to use its power to fulfill its own ambitions and crush its opponents. They demand power with promises of benevolence, but every bit of control we give them over our lives and fortunes can be twisted into whips for lashing us into obedience. Everything they “give” you can be taken away later, if you prove troublesome. Cut their budgets, and they’ll make you bleed. Their extravagant vows to selflessly serve the public good are forgotten in a hot second, when it’s time for the bureaucracy to defend itself against reform … especially the kind of reform that leaves them with less power and money.

$10.9 billion isn’t sufficient to administer the tax code and Obamacare without inflicting undue inconvenience upon the Little People? The only sane conclusion to draw is that the tax code and Obamacare have to go. They’re unworkable, by the government’s own admission. Let’s get back to the drawing board and design a system that doesn’t treat the free people of this great Republic like serfs.