{"id":21499,"date":"2025-04-15T08:11:15","date_gmt":"2025-04-15T12:11:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/?p=21499"},"modified":"2025-04-15T20:49:11","modified_gmt":"2025-04-16T00:49:11","slug":"on-tax-day-never-forget-irs-culture-bingo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2025\/04\/15\/on-tax-day-never-forget-irs-culture-bingo\/","title":{"rendered":"On Tax Day, Never Forget IRS Culture Bingo"},"content":{"rendered":"

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On Tax Day, Never Forget IRS Culture Bingo<\/a><\/h1>\n

by James Bovard<\/a><\/span> | Apr 15, 2025, Libertarian Institute<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

On Tax Day, politicians and mainstream media will hector Americans to be grateful for the opportunity to pay their taxes.<\/strong> The Internal Revenue Service website touts a moth-eaten quote from a dead Supreme Court Justice: \u201cTaxes are what we pay for civilized society<\/span><\/a>.\u201d But recent history is the best antidote to groveling in gratitude to the federal agency that commandeers a lion\u2019s share of your income.<\/p>\n

The smiley face IRS should have been banished forever after revelations in the years before the 9\/11 attacks.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Former IRS district chief David Patnoe observed in 1998, \u201cMore tax is collected by fear and intimidation than by the law. People are afraid of the IRS.\u201dIn 1996, an IRS instructor in the Arkansas-Oklahoma district was caught on videotape lecturing collection agents on how to treat taxpayers:<\/p>\n

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\u201cMake them cry.<\/strong> We don\u2019t give points around here for being good scouts. The word is enforced. If that\u2019s not tattooed on your forehead, or somewhere else, then you need to get it. Enforcement. Seizure and sales. That\u2019s our mind set\u2026If you\u2019ve got an assessment, enforce collection until they come to their knees.\u201d \u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

One confidential IRS document uncovered in 1997 revealed that IRS auditors in the San Francisco region were expected to assess at least $1,012 in additional taxes for each hour they spend auditing a taxpayer\u2019s return. IRS revenue officers ignored regulations and guidelines before seizing property. In one case in the Arkansas-Oklahoma region, the only effort an IRS agent made before confiscating two cars \u201cconsisted of driving to the taxpayer\u2019s house, honking his car horn, and noting that no one came out of the house in response,\u201d according to an IRS audit.<\/p>\n

IRS agents have been indoctrinated to see taxpayers as a class enem<\/strong>y. This attitude is epitomized by \u201cCulture Bingo,\u201d a game used to train IRS agents and auditors. The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants complained that Culture Bingo and other \u201ceconomic reality training modules\u201d encouraged examiners to think the worst of taxpayers. Culture Bingo sought to help employees recognize \u201can IRS organizational culture regarding the audit process.\u201d The game encouraged IRS agents to recognize or practice the following:<\/p>\n