We can't trust the IRS

One of the many advantages of living in Florida is that I am not obliged to furnish the state with any information at all in order to make my living. Florida does not know for whom I choose to work, or how much I make. It does not know to which charities I choose to donate, or how much I give. It does not know how large my mortgage is, or how much I still owe. It knows nothing, and it keeps nothing. In 2016, a hack of IRS systems yielded the sensitive personal information of more than 700,000 Americans. Had those responsible, or anyone else, elected to try the same thing in Florida, they would have found zip. It has long astonished me that left-leaning Americans are as bothered as they are by the PATRIOT Act — a concern I share, for the record — and yet are not only comfortable with the IRS as it exists, but, in many cases, would like to make it even more intrusive. Elizabeth Warren wants to institute an unconstitutional “wealth tax” that would require high earners to invite the IRS to superintend a whole host of their quotidian transactions. Joe Biden wants to spend $80 billion to double the IRS’s workforce and, thereby, to increase the number and scope of audits. The biggest achievement of the last Democratic administration fused the tax and health-care systems. Realistically, which organization do we think is more likely to play a part in the release of information that embarrasses or damages you: the Internal Revenue Service, or your county library?