Senator Wants IRS to Chase After Pimps Jun 27, 4:48 PM By MARY DALRYMPLE WASHINGTON (AP) - Pimps and sex traffickers could soon find themselves being chased by tax collectors, not just the vice squad. Sen. Charles Grassley, chairman of the tax-writing Senate Finance Committee, wants the Internal Revenue Service to chase after pimps and sex traffickers with the same fervor it stalked gangster Al Capone for tax evasion. Grassley, R-Iowa, would hit pimps with fines and lengthy prison sentences for failing to file employment forms and withhold taxes for the women and girls under their command. The proposal would make certain tax crimes a felony when the money comes from a criminal activity. A one-year prison sentence and $25,000 fine would become a 10-year sentence and $50,000 fine for each employment form that a pimp or sex trafficker fails to file. Grassley planned to propose the penalties when his panel meets Wednesday. "The thugs who run these trafficking rings are exploiting society's poorest girls and women for personal gain," Grassley said. "The IRS goes after drug traffickers. It can go after sex traffickers." Michael Horowitz, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, said the change has the potential to put pimps out of business without difficult trials that require women to testify to abuse and mistreatment. "We need to simply treat the pimps and massage parlor operators the way we would treat anybody who takes the proceeds of a customer transaction from somebody and then gives a fraction of it back," he said. Under tax law, that relationship makes the pimp an employer, requiring the filing of a wage statement and the withholding of payroll taxes, including Social Security. Grassley envisions creating an office inside the Internal Revenue Service to prosecute sex traffickers for violating tax laws. The office would get $2 million to get started, and it would be allowed to keep a portion of the taxes it collects. The IRS work is intended to build on efforts under way to curb worldwide trafficking. The Justice Department, collaborating with U.S. attorneys offices nationwide, would identify pimps and sex traffickers and refer them to the IRS. Grassley also wants to change the IRS whistleblower program to allow the girls and women to participate. If the IRS goes after pimps and sex traffickers for tax offenses now, it conducts lengthy audits of their lifestyles in order to estimate their incomes from illegal activities and determine taxes due. http://apnews.myway.com/article/20060628/D8IGVLF00.html GREAT!! I guess all the other really important issues affecting America that Congress can tackle have all have been resolved! Immigration, the war in Iraq, the war in Afghani... wait... what? [voice mumbles from off stage] Oh they haven't fixed all the imprtant stuff that's messed up? [voice continued mumbling off stage] Oh... nevermind.
This is awesome because God knows there is nothing more important than going after all of those pimps and their ho's!!! I have really lost all faith with our r****ded government.
Since the war on terror hasn't been completed, the government shouldn't be wasting time on helping the poor, protecting the environment, or raising taxes on the rich. How dare they discuss any law that is not directly related to the war in Iraq.
That isn't at all what I'm saying. I'm saying that there are many other domestic issues that could be worked on other than going after pimps. It just seems ridiculous.
I've always thought the IRS should target the proceeds from illegal activity. You know they'd be all over a 'legit' business that failed to report it's income.
I think it is ridiculous that people are suggesting the problem with human trafficking is as inconsequential as the flag-burning amendment. I know a lot of posters here see prostitution as a made-up vice that should not be persecuted by the government. But, this is about the exploitation of prostitutes, not prostitution itself. I don't see how you can say the kidnapping of girls, the abuse, sexual assaults, the debt-peonage, and the financial exploitation that comes with pimping is no big deal. At the same time, the bill sounds a little silly. What if a pimp files all his taxes? Then the feds can't touch him? The federal government is again invading the sphere of influence reserved for the states. Though, I'm sure the states aren't going to mind on this one.
The kidnapping, abuse, assault, pimping, etc remains a crime. This just adds one more means to go after them. And adds an additional layer of penalties over simple tax evasion. Al Capone would not be amused.
Sure, but those are all handled by the states (except transporting minors over state lines). Will the IRS give the states a list of all the pimps that file taxes? Of course, I'm being a little facetious. We know most pimps won't be filing anyway. It just seems like piling on. Will we catch any on catch evasion before catching them on more straightforward stuff, like pimping? In which case, we've already got a case.
Do you honestly think there is no discussion of immigration in Congress. They have plenty of time to talk about lots of stuff. I doubt that allowing the IRS to go after pimps pushes much off of the schedule. Maybe they won't have time to authorize another bridge to nowhere.
Domestic issues are not limited to immigration. If they have plenty of time to "talk about lots of stuff" why in the hell isn't anything getting done? Probably because of horse**** like this and bans on gay marriage, etc.. How about healthcare? or the ****ty schools our kids go to? I could go on and on. I'd rather they work on things that actually effect our lives. How many pimps do you know that make so much money that they got out of the ghetto? I don't figure that its going to effect the bottom line of our national budget too much if the IRS gets "theirs" from all of the pimps in our country. "Well Frank, honestly before I bought this million dollar home in The Woodlands, I used to pimp ho's. You really wouldn't believe how lucrative smacking a b**** around can actually be and the tax breaks are phenomenal! Look where its gotten me! HA HA HA HA HA!!"
If they did file their taxes, what would they list their occupation? Entertainment distributor? p***y peddler?
Legalize it, regulate it, and tax it. Its the oldest profession in the world and its not going away. Hell, there is so much money going to vices, and our govt is just letting it slip away....
The reason that nothing gets done is that no one can agree on how to do anything. Even with Republican control of both houses and the executive, they have trouble getting a majority to agree. On any issue where they can get something going, the opposition filibusters and they are back to square one. If they didn't talk about these piddly things, they wouldn't do anything at all. As for there being more issues than immigration, I was just using the same examples that you did in your original post, first the War in Iraq and also immigration. It is not about getting money from the pimps. It is about arresting the pimps on charges they can make stick. Just like they couldn't get Capone on murder, bootlegging, etc. so they got him for tax evasion. I think going after those who trade in people as property is worthwhile.
