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Your Tax Dollars At Work: IRS Visits Sacramento Car Wash In Pursuit Of 4 Cents


Excerpts from an article in the Sacramento Bee: It was every businessperson’s nightmare.

Arriving at Harv’s Metro Car Wash in midtown Wednesday afternoon were two dark-suited IRS agents demanding payment of delinquent taxes. “They were deadly serious, very aggressive, very condescending,” says Harv’s owner, Aaron Zeff.

The really odd part of this: The letter that was hand-delivered to Zeff’s on-site manager showed the amount of money owed to the feds was … 4 cents.

Inexplicably, penalties and taxes accruing on the debt – stemming from the 2006 tax year – were listed as $202.31, leaving Harv’s with an obligation of $202.35.

Zeff, who also owns local parking lots and is the president of the Midtown Business Association, finds the situation a bit comical.

“It’s hilarious,” he says, “that two people hopped in a car and came down here for just 4 cents. I think (the IRS) may have a problem with priorities.”

Now he’s trying to figure out how penalties and interest could climb so high on such a small debt. He says he’s never been told he owes any taxes or that he’s ever incurred any late-payment penalties in the four years he’s owned Harv’s.

In fact, he provided us with an Oct. 22, 2009, letter from the IRS that states Harv’s “has filed all required returns and addressed any balances due.”

IRS spokesman Jesse Weller isn’t commenting “due to privacy and disclosure laws.”

Zeff says he’s as offended as much as anything else by what he considers rude behavior by the IRS guys. While at Harv’s, he sniffs, “they didn’t even get a car wash.”

(READ MORE: http://www.sacbee.com/)



2 Responses

  1. Frankly, I don’t believe the story. All we are hearing is the tax-payer’s side. Since when have you known two IRS agents to visit any home or business like that? Usually, the Treasury Department contracts out collection of past-due tax debts to private agencies (often lawyers who specialize in debt collection). Personal visits, except for audits, are unheard of. The IRS cannot comment because Federal law does, in fact, prohibit them from talking about any taxpayer. So, the story in the paper could be complete fantasy catering to anti-tax sentiment.

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