What does That Come To With Interest and Penalties?

The Internal Revenue Service is at it again.  This time the IRS is unable to say how it spent some $67 million that was set aside for the implementation of Obamacare.  According to a report by the Inspector General of the Treasury Department, the Health Insurance Reform Implementation Fund which originally got $1 billion when Obamacare was passed in 2010, is missing the $67 million.  The Inspector General does not say whether or not the money was stolen, used for improper purposes, or just spent without their being any record of the nature of the expenditures.  In other words, the IRS at the very least has spent money without keeping proper records and receipts to document the expenditures.  Just imagine what the IRS itself would say if you told it that those tax deductions you took were proper but you forget to write down the expenditures or keep receipts.  Can you say, "Fines, penalties and interest"?

The amazing thing about this mess is that the money in question was tucked into Obamacare just so that there would be no need for further funds for implementation of the act.  In some way, the IRS "loss" of the $67 million is partly behind the current battle to defund Obamacare. 

Even worse, if the IRS cannot keep track of how it spent the money to implement Obamacare, how will it ever be able to enforce that law in a fair way?  For all we know, that $67 million was spent by Lois Lerner to attack conservative groups and individuals.  Maybe it was sent to the Obama campaign last year.  Maybe it went towards making Star Trek videos for the latest IRS conference at some high end casino in Las Vegas.  Maybe Tim Geithner has it.  We just don't know.  What we do know is that the IRS is incredibly incompetent.