In Dallas, the IRS says it can’t chase tax cheats who owe less than $1 million

Federal Eye
By Lisa Rein April 8
@Reinlwapo

DALLAS — The Internal Revenue Service collects about 93 percent of the revenue that keeps the federal government going. ... But today in Dallas, there are more than 1,000 wealthy people who owe a whole lot of money the IRS says it isn’t even trying to collect.

If these taxpayers are delinquent on $900,000, for example, the IRS won’t go after them; budget reductions have forced the revenue collection staff to train its firepower on cheats who owe $1 million or more.

“I have to say, sorry, we can’t get that money,” said Richard Christian, supervisory revenue officer for the Dallas area. “Nobody’s ever going to knock on their door.”
....

When someone hasn’t paid taxes, the best likelihood they’ll be collected is for the IRS to garnish the person’s wages. But millionaires don’t generally have regular jobs and paychecks that can be garnished, Christian said. ... “If you owe $1 million, I’m going to knock on your door,” he said. “If you just owe $700,000, we’ll hope you get a job sometime so we can levy.”