IRS seeks PayPal account information ("to trace offshore money")

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

IRS seeks PayPal account information
Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal - 3:00 PM PDT Tuesday

http://www.bizjournals.com/sanjose/stories/2006/04/10/daily37.html?f=et79&hbx=e_du

The Internal Revenue service won approval Tuesday from federal court in San Jose to ask PayPal Inc. for account information on its customers.

San Jose-based PayPal, which is owned by San Jose-based eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) is still evaluating its options, according to reports. The company enables online money transfers and the IRS is looking for information on people who be evading taxes by hiding income in other countries.

The request is an outgrowth of an IRS effort that began several years ago to trace money held offshore. The request covers transactions from 1999 through 2004.

A 2003 amnesty program netted $170 million in taxes and penalties from income hidden offshore.

[Deja Q]

1. Only $170 million? Well, all that puts those tax cuts to shame...

:crazy:

[rzemanfl]

2. The Bush Administration is seeing if their offshore accounts are

safe.

[FlaGranny]

3. Maybe they just want to make

sure I'm not being anything dangerous on e-bay.

[Trillo]

4. This would appear to be one of the biggest challenges to e-commerce.

If someone wants the government out of their lives, the only option becomes cash. I think it's important to remember that honest people who follow the laws still want privacy in their money and banking transactions, and it is increasingly obvious that cash is the only way for people to do this.

Curiously, the propaganda coming from our government: if anyone is using cash, they're likely a drug dealer or perhaps up to something else not good. Not so.

Obviously, our government feels SECRECY for themselves is mandatory. So, it should be so for citizens, too.

[Whoa_Nelly]

5. Am thinking the IRS is looking to audit those who sell on eBay and

don't report.

[Rainscents]

7. Exactly!!!

BINGO!!!

[DUHandle]

15. Me too

The IRS always overlooks collecting unpaid taxes from the higher income brackets.

I should start using the rant image on that one.

[Rainscents]

6. I believe, there's more to IRS wanting this information from Paypal,

I have no idea what that is, but, one thing, it has nothing to do with offshoring the money.

[ShockediSay]

8. somebody phishing?

seriously, i got a notice allegedly from paypal a few months ago that seemed very phishy

[pdurod1]

9. Here we go again...

the middle class has to pick up the tab for the corporations and rich fucks. Buffett said his class is winning.

[sweetheart]

10. You can never escape the prison

Prison USA stalks its prisoners around the world to steal
anything that they have earned in other parts of the world.

As a US citizen abroad, best not to work with US companies
as they have special "fucking" rules for americans, where
they get out the rubber glove... citibank's UK current account
comes to mind... where they violate EU privacy regulation and
give private data on US citizens to the nazis.

The IRS is just the strong arm of the plantation murder combine,
and its huge nuclear war machine... come combine and eat another
slave, suck living bood for death and genocide, evil empire
time to die.

[Dover]

11. Everyone should close their Pay Pal accounts IMMEDIATELY

in order to show them the consequences of going along with this clear cut plan to further erode our rights to privacy. The 'off shore' excuse is crap.

They've already got search engine companies like Yahoo and Google in allegiance to report on internet user's activities, and are censoring searches (This is widespread in China too). Once all the internet privacy safety valves are removed or 'owned' by Big Brother there will be no more privacy or reliable 'free' information available online. If people don't take a stand when these important issues come up one more source of public information/communication will die a death of a thousand wounds and it will be all over.

In fact it may already be too late.

[annabanana]

12. Paypal? PAYPAL?!?

That banker for nickle and dime online commerce? If they're looking for offshore banking, SURELY there are bigger targets....

[area51]

13. "...banker for nickle and dime online commerce?"

That was my thought too. It's so obvious that if the IRS really cared about offshore money, it would be going to places like the Cayman Islands & Switzerland, where the wealthy hide their money, not Pay Pal.

[MissB]

14. Wonder how they'll deal with Craigslist sellers?