May312014
(Kevin E. Lake) –
Recently, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has come under attack for
malicious treatment of certain U.S. citizens and groups by singling them
out based upon their personal political preferences. At this time, it
is still unclear where the direct orders came from to initiate such
heinous activities, but what is crystal clear is that this type of
activity is not new for the IRS.
The IRS has
mastered the art of breaking their own laws, one case in particular;
using banks to launder and then steal disabled veterans’ disability
checks.
The
Veterans Disability Act of 2010 is a Federal law which exempts VA
disability from withholding of any sort. Actually, existing code USC,
Title 38, §5301
already protected VA disability from withholding, but this provision
was re-iterated and included in the newer legislation of 2010, because
too many civil court judges were legislating from the bench and
including veterans’ disability monies as earned income and granting it
to ex-spouses (men and women) in divorce proceedings, at times, leaving
disabled veterans without any safety net for self-care.
However, the IRS is still figuring out ways to get to a veteran’s disability money. How do I know? Recently, it happened to me.
A
couple of months ago, when I logged into my online bank account to make
sure that my VA disability check had been deposited (I am a 60% disabled
veteran of the Iraq War) I saw red and a negative balance, beside which read the word “hold.”
I
called my bank and was informed that the IRS had sent a letter demanding
that the bank take all of the available funds out of my account on the
first day of the month and then wire them to them. The bank gave me a
telephone number at which to call the IRS. After being placed on hold
for a very long time- long as in a biblical age- I finally spoke with an
agent.
Long
story short; they claim I made $157,000 in 2010 and that I owe them tons
of money, and that until I pay it, a lien will remain on my personal
bank account.
At
the beginning of 2010, I was still in the hospital recovering from
injuries I’d sustained while serving in Iraq. I was released early in
the year, but still did not find employment until October, and even
then, it was only part time. I can assure you, as I did the IRS, that I
did not earn $157,000.00. Actually, I earned less than $10,000.00 in
2010.
I
kindly read the federal code mentioned above to the lady I spoke with at
the IRS, reminding her that VA disability money is 100% exempt. She
placed me on hold for another age (I could see a man coming- bearing
water- over the horizon) and then she came back on the line and told me,
“We do not take veterans’ disability money. We wait until the funds are
deposited from the VA and then we take all of the funds from your bank
account.”
Um.
Isn’t this called laundering?
I find it ironic, now, that only weeks before the IRS put this hold on
my bank account, I’d been asked to be a contributing writer for key Tea
Party personality “Joe the Plumber.” I’d been writing freelance articles
on veterans affairs for some time, publishing and distributing them
mostly through Facebook, and I viewed the personal call Joe made to me
as one of the greatest compliments I’d been paid in regard to those
articles. I jumped at the opportunity to join his team and give my work,
such as this piece, a wider audience. I can’t help but think that part
of my decision to join Joe’s team may have played a part in being
singled out by the IRS at this specific time and having my VA disability
money taken from me in complete breach of federal law.
The
good news is that through my persistence, and my refusal to accept their
answer, that it is okay to launder VA disability money, I was able to
get the IRS to refund all of the money they’d taken from my bank. I am
working with the IRS to remedy their great misunderstanding of my
earnings for 2010, and I am reaching out to all disabled veterans to let
them know that if this is happening to them, they do have rights, and
they need to stand up for them.
As
many veterans know, our war does not stop once we make it home. Often,
new battles begin, such as battles for the rights our government
promised they’d provide for us upon our return from war that they often
turn around and attempt to take away.
Currently
in America, twenty two veterans a day are committing suicide. One of
the biggest contributors to the suicide epidemic is our veterans’
inability to find suitable work after serving and the inability to take
care of themselves and their families financially. This is why VA
disability is sacred- except in the eyes of the IRS. Too many disabled
veterans in the U.S. are just a disability check away from being on the
street and joining the already nearly 70,000 homeless veterans in
America.
If
you are a veteran receiving disability from the VA, and you are having
it garnished, withheld, or having a lien placed upon it for any reason,
please contact the entity who is withholding, garnishing, or who has
placed the lien, and reference the federal code stated earlier in this
article. You stood up for the rights of all people of a great nation in
combat, but unfortunately, you must continue to stand up for yourselves
to ensure that the promises of being taken care of upon your return are
kept. But you can do it, because you are a warrior, and that’s what
warriors do.
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