Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis followed through on his pledge to fight President Joe Biden’s plan to hire 87,000 new IRS agents,
Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis followed through on his pledge to fight President Joe Biden’s plan to hire 87,000 new IRS agents, who undoubtedly would begin targeting middle- and working-class Americans.
“Today, we released bill language that we will work with members of the Florida Legislature to pass, so that we can protect Florida’s small businesses,” Patronis said in a statement.
“We know that the IRS targeted conservative groups in 2013, and we cannot let that happen in Florida. When it comes to public corruption, I have always felt that transparency is the best disinfectant.”
The CFO’s proposed IRS Protection Plan does not yet have a sponsor in the Legislature. But it’s difficult to imagine Republicans in Tallahassee would pass up an opportunity to push back against an agency conservatives generally loathe.
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Patronis erected his plan on four “pillars.”
The first of them would establish a requirement for Florida’s state-chartered banks to report IRS activities so the state can understand “the severity and frequency of federal agents accessing Florida’s banking information.”
“This information will help us better understand where the IRS may be targeting Floridians, so we can fight back against potential discrimination. Moreover, we will make this information available to the appropriate committees in Washington that provide oversight of the IRS,” Patronis said.
“Luckily, we do not need a law to create a resource for the public to file complaints about specific IRS agents and activities. This information will be important as we work to protect Florida businesses, non-profits and individuals from abuses by IRS officials,” he added.
“We want to give them a place where they can submit facts and information on how they believe the IRS may be targeting them to see if there is any way state or federal authorities can help.”
The second pillar would yank the licenses of debt collectors who can be shown to be acting as agents on behalf of the IRS in going after small businesses, nonprofits, or private individuals.
The third pillar would create a financial fund to “incentivize” Florida businesses to head to court and to fight back against discrimination and possible IRS abuse.
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The fourth pillar would set up civil penalties for IRS agents who demonstrate “political discrimination” against individuals. “There is documented evidence that the IRS targeted Tea Party groups in 2013, and no doubt the IRS under the Biden Administration would do the same to many businesses and organizations in Florida who have professed a love of freedom,” said Patronis.
“Florida must force IRS bureaucrats to think twice before once again targeting conservatives. The IRS has a culture problem and they need to police their own when it comes to political discrimination.”
Concluding, Patronis added, “Washington wastes billions and billions in taxpayer money. Now they’re creating an IRS army to shakedown Florida’s small businesses. No one asked for this.”
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Free Press.
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