Many businesspeople love to complain about government, about how high costs are, how government is slow and inefficient, how government impairs the free market. You know the refrain. I feel a bit different. I’ve had my frustrations with government as we all have. But government has its place. There need to be laws and rules that need to be evenly enforced. The government needs to maintain a level playing field for business and citizens.
But post-Covid government seems to be worse than ever. I think many agencies were poorly suited to virtual work. After all, the IRS employees couldn’t open millions of pieces of mail at home. I also think we are now realizing the results of underinvesting in government computer systems for decades. Politicians seem to love to beat up the IRS and cut their budget but we’re seeing the results now and it’s frustrating.
I’ve had three particular experiences in quick succession recently.
Employment Security
My wife and I bought a restaurant last year. It was an asset purchase as 99% of small business transactions are. The point, of course, is to avoid unstated liabilities of the seller that might be unwittingly assumed if the business entity were purchased. Now I find that the State of Washington has a WAC that makes the buyer of “substantially all” of the assets responsible for unpaid Employment Security taxes of the previous owner. Meanwhile, the Governor has a moratorium on the Employment Security Department prohibiting the department for filing liens, getting judgements or garnishments to collect past due amounts. In other words, it’s easier to get the money from the buyer of the business than the seller! Or to try. I’m not going to pay them either. We’ll see what happens when the Governor’s moratorium is lifted.
Social Security
I filed for social security this year and, naturally, wondered what my monthly benefit will be. So far, I’ve received three different answers via letters. I got a fourth amount provided by a phone call. On another call I was advised to just wait and see. Meanwhile, the letters all advise me I have 60 days to appeal if I disagree! So, I appealed, although I’m not sure what I appealed. Maybe just an answer with a calculation showing me why?
In the phone calls, it was apparent that the employees at the Social Security Administration really were trying to help me. But they were flipping through multiple screens on different computer systems and getting very frustrated. Ya gotta give people the tools they need to do their jobs.
Internal Revenue Service
Everybody’s whipping boy. I actually haven’t had any problems personally with the IRS but I have clients and friends that sure have. E-filing seems to work pretty well but paper returns mailed to the IRS are not being opened in a timely manner. One can’t confirm they’ve been received. A Wall Street Journal article said personal refunds are taking up to ten months.
I actually wish the IRS was able to actually enforce the tax laws that are in place. I don’t think the country needs to raise taxes; it just needs to collect the taxes due based on the existing laws. I see very little enforcement by the IRS and I see a lot of cheating by taxpayers. Er, non-compliance. Not by my clients, of course. But over my career I’ve seen a lot of abuse, which irritates a person, like me, that obeys the laws.
No solutions today, just venting. Sigh.
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