No, this isn't another posted about pimping or prostitution. The AP reports that a prosecutor has seized thousands of tax records from an income tax preparer popular with Hispanics in Greeley, Colorado. In the search of 4,900 tax returns as many as 1,300 suspected illegal immigrants were discovered and now face deportation.
As I posted earlier, the IRS expects income from all sources, including illegal activity, to be reported. What is not granted is immunity from further prosecution in regards to those illegal activities. To be clear, most (if not all) of the 1,300 suspects were not involved in criminal careers such as pimping and prosecution. They are accused of being undocumented or using someone else's identity. The AP dispatch mentions that 70 people face charges of identity theft in the sting.
The other issue in this story is the means the prosecutor used to secure his evidence. The ACLU likened it to a 'house-by-house search of innocent homeowners in order to find a suspect believed to be in the neighborhood'. This is scary for me personally. It marks the first time I have ever agreed with the ACLU. Two judges also agreed which lessens the blow to my paradigm for understanding legal issues. The judges ruled that the prosecutor had no probable cause to seize the records. That decision has been appealed.
It will be interesting how the appeals are decided for two reasons. First, will this give prosecutors in other jurisdictions a tool to use against illegal immigration. Secondly, will the federal and state governments notice a decline in tax revenues. From 1996-2003 filers who used ITINs (numbers assigned by the IRS to those without Social Security Numbers) paid $50 billion in taxes.
My favorite part of this story is Maria Eugenia Rey's comment, 'If it's a crime to pay taxes, then the IRS should also be charged because they're the ones who gave us the ITIN.' To be clear, the crime involved is not paying taxes. It makes me wonder if this will give the tax protestor crowd any ideas.
As I posted earlier, the IRS expects income from all sources, including illegal activity, to be reported. What is not granted is immunity from further prosecution in regards to those illegal activities. To be clear, most (if not all) of the 1,300 suspects were not involved in criminal careers such as pimping and prosecution. They are accused of being undocumented or using someone else's identity. The AP dispatch mentions that 70 people face charges of identity theft in the sting.
The other issue in this story is the means the prosecutor used to secure his evidence. The ACLU likened it to a 'house-by-house search of innocent homeowners in order to find a suspect believed to be in the neighborhood'. This is scary for me personally. It marks the first time I have ever agreed with the ACLU. Two judges also agreed which lessens the blow to my paradigm for understanding legal issues. The judges ruled that the prosecutor had no probable cause to seize the records. That decision has been appealed.
It will be interesting how the appeals are decided for two reasons. First, will this give prosecutors in other jurisdictions a tool to use against illegal immigration. Secondly, will the federal and state governments notice a decline in tax revenues. From 1996-2003 filers who used ITINs (numbers assigned by the IRS to those without Social Security Numbers) paid $50 billion in taxes.
My favorite part of this story is Maria Eugenia Rey's comment, 'If it's a crime to pay taxes, then the IRS should also be charged because they're the ones who gave us the ITIN.' To be clear, the crime involved is not paying taxes. It makes me wonder if this will give the tax protestor crowd any ideas.
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