A new proposal in front of Congress could cause a lot of headaches for people who have tax debt. Actually, scratch that — this could cause a lot of headaches for people who have tax debt, and their relatives. The provision in front of Congress is tucked into a larger plan. That specific provision would allow private collection agencies to take over tax collection duties for the IRS of certain individuals who owe back taxes if the federal agency was unable to make contact or locate them within a year.
Such a program is reminiscent of some past plans that were heavily scrutinized after people complained of being constantly harassed by debt collectors. It also led to many people who were not the individuals who owed back taxes being contacted and harassed in an attempt to get the back taxes paid.
This is where we have to blatant about this: you need an experienced tax attorney if you are dealing with back taxes. If you don’t have an attorney on your side, you may be taken advantage of by debt collectors or even the IRS. There are processes and appeals that you can file to help you deal with the back taxes. You can even make a deal with the IRS, given the right circumstances.
Every case is unique and every case is going to bring different dynamics, so it is hard to give some blanket advice with back taxes. But if there’s one thing that everyone who has back taxes needs to know, it’s that an attorney can be very helpful to you during this tough time.
Source: Washington Post, “Congress moves to turn back taxes over to debt collectors,” Lori Montgomery, May 15, 2014