During a reported robbery attempt, an Internal Revenue Service special agent shot and wounded a man in Bayview during an attempted mugging. Police spokesman Sgt. Troy Dangerfield told BCN (via CBS 5) that "two suspects approached the agent and attempted a robbery. At some point the agent fired a gun at the suspects, hitting one in the torso...the wounded suspect was taken to a hospital for treatment and is expected to survive." An IRS spokesperson confirms that the agent was on-duty at the time of the shooting. more ›

Apparently Turbo Tax, for the past nine years, has been doing an annual tally of which cities have the largest number of procrastinating citizens when it comes to filing their taxes. San Francisco, which was No. 1 in 2008, was No. 5 in 2009. Houston holds the current No. 1 spot, which they've held for three previous years. New York City has held strong at No. 3 for the past two years. Don't worry, fellow procrastinators, we still have a little over three weeks before the big deadline! [Via Newser] more ›

While we love to poke fun at Mayor Gavin Newsom now and then (which we're sure he finds nothing short of adorable, right?) we can all agree on one thing: at least he's no Ron Dellums. With a lien on the Oakland mayor's property for failing to fork over $239,000 in taxes (from 2005 to 2007) to the Internal Revenue Service, the Dellums are now facing a second lien for more than $13,000. Dellums, and his wife, Cynthia, are "named in an IRS lien filed with the Alameda County recorder's office Dec. 23 in the amount of $13,638," reports SFGate. This comes on the heels of Oakland being... well, being Oakland. more ›

Oh oh. Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums owes the IRS in back taxes. Lots and lots of back taxes. more ›

A new piece today in the Washington Post suggests that Obama administration officials and members of Congress alike are considering the possibility of a VAT, or value-added tax, which would impose a levy on all goods and services in order to cover the nation's gi-fucking-normous budget deficit. Along with raising taxes on the highest earners, the idea of a VAT seems to be gaining traction as something that has worked for 130 other countries worldwide. more ›

President Obama announced a plan this morning to revise IRS policies and to crack down on individuals and corporations using loopholes and off-shore "headquarters" to avoid paying their fair share of taxes. He plans to hire 800 new IRS employees to act as enforcers of the new plan, looking into and auditing corporate books to retrieve more than $200 billion potentially owed to the government. In his quick speech, Obama cited a famous address in the Cayman Islands which is listed as the headquarters for 12,000 different corporate entities. Please cue the requisite Republican shit fit on Fox News and Matt Drudge summoning the horsemen of the apocalypse. more ›