Headline:
Bill Would Allow IRS to Suspend Travel Rights of Anyone Accused of Owing Taxes

Accused? I’m not comfortable with that word at all. Without a doubt, I am definitely against allowing people to leave the United States if they owe taxes–but it has to be stone cold fact and not merely an accusation. We’ve all seen too many governmental “clerical errors.”

The current proposed legislation could potentially allow the federal government to prevent any Americans who owe back taxes from traveling outside the U.S. The legislation states that any individual who owes more than $50,000 to the Internal Revenue Service may be subject to “action with respect to denial, revocation, or limitation of a passport.” Sounds like a great piece of law, if you ask me. But again, this has to carry a proper paper trail behind it and be absolutely irrefutable. The purpose should be to safeguard against those with big tax obligations chucking it all and moving to Spain. I think we can all envision a poorly-hatched government initiative that results in holding up a family on vacation trying to get to Toronto when it’s another “Steven T. Jones” who owes back taxes–and not the Steven T. Jones who is trying to take his son to the Hockey Hall of Fame. Exaggeration? I don’t think so. Ever get the wrong mail put in your mailbox? You see my point.

Also, there does not appear to be any specific language requiring a taxpayer to be charged with tax evasion or any other crime in order to have their passport revoked or limited–only that a notice of lien or levy has been filed by the IRS.

What do you think?

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