Social Security, Treasury target taxpayers for their parents’ decades-old debts

[oneofthe99]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/social-security-treasury-target-hundreds-of-thousands-of-taxpayers-for-parents-old-debts/2014/04/10/74ac8eae-bf4d-11e3-bcec-b71ee10e9bc3_story.html



A few weeks ago, with no notice, the U.S. government intercepted Mary Grice’s tax refunds from both the IRS and the state of Maryland. Grice had no idea that Uncle Sam had seized her money until some days later, when she got a letter saying that her refund had gone to satisfy an old debt to the government — a very old debt.

When Grice was 4, back in 1960, her father died, leaving her mother with five children to raise. Until the kids turned 18, Sadie Grice got survivor benefits from Social Security to help feed and clothe them

[Xithras]

1. In a fair country that would be an ex post facto violation.

The aggressive effort to collect old debts started three years ago — the result of a single sentence tucked into the farm bill lifting the 10-year statute of limitations on old debts to Uncle Sam.

So the debt was cleared when the statute of limitations passed, and then Congress retroactively wiped the statute of limitations to reactivate the debt? That's screwed. And Treasury believes that it can pursue children over their parents debt if the children received any benefit from it? Wow, how medieval of them.

[oneofthe99]

2. It's insane maybe not even legal but good luck suing the IRS

[reformist2]

3. That stuck out like a sore thumb to me as well - it's unconstitutional.

[Glitterati]

4. This is like the 10th thread on this, and.....

the funds they are going after are benefits PAID TO AN ADULT FOR A MINOR CHILD.

That's the bottom line, these people were children (minors) when benefits were paid to their parent/guardian on the loss of a parent - survivor benefits. Children receive funds, paid to a parent or guardian ON THEIR BEHALF and the funds are to be used to house, cloth and feed the surviving minor of a deceased worker.

Here's how it works today....when my husband died, I got a monthly allocation for my minor daughter as part of his social security benefits. She got those benefits until she turned 18. Previously, however, the benefits were until age 22 as long as the child remained in school, even college.

Also, had my daughter NOT graduated a year early from high school, she would have received her benefits until her graduation from high school AFTER she turned 18 (She was scheduled to graduate in 2014 and turned 18 in 2013). However, if she was in school and attained the age of 18, the checks would have been issued in HER NAME once she turned 18. Prior to that, the checks were issued to ME, as a Representative Payee FOR HER.

As long as I was her Representative Payee, I had to account for every dime paid to ME on her behalf annually. If the report didn't arrive, her benefits would have been suspended.

The bottom line is simply that these funds directly benefited the person they are being collected from.

on edit:
And, BTW, these are the same Social Security benefits Paul Ryan received.

[blkmusclmachine]

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