Most of what you've read online about IRS problems is wrong, or at least misleading. I'm Darrin Mish. I practice tax law in Tampa and I've been doing this for 32 years. Here's what's actually true.<\/p>\n
Senator Tom Coburn (R-Okla) has urged his fellow lawmakers to come clean<\/a> on their own tax statuses to the federal, state and local governments. The Washington Post recently reported that the Senators and Representatives of the House collectively owed a total of $9.3 million in taxes to the federal government last year. This represents a significant 37% leap from two years ago. \u00a0Click here to watch or read more information on IRS Back Taxes.<\/a><\/p>\n The IRS themselves have not revealed the identities of the culprits but Senator Coburn says the onus should be on the lawmakers to disclose their tax liabilities<\/a> rather than be found out. He says it\u2019s a matter of leadership by example. As such, Senator Coburn has proposed legislature that requires lawmakers to declare how much they owe in taxes<\/a> in addition to their annual financial declarations, plus face an ethics enquiry.<\/p>\n But not everyone shares Senator Coburn\u2019s sentiments over this issue. Norman Ornstein, resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, feels that there can be many legitimate reasons why a lawmaker, like any other taxpayer, may be behind on his or her taxes. In particular, Ornstein feels that the requirement of an ethics enquiry is too much.<\/p>\n