Granted, the day is still quite young, but this one really takes the cake.
In a time when millions of Americans are out of work and we have double-digit unemployment (not to mention the millions of Americans who are currently underemployed), massive home foreclosures, bank giveaways by our government, seemingly increased nationwide violence, and a group of stupid people who call themselves "teabaggers", I bring you this staggering amount of EPIC FAIL!:
It was every businessperson's nightmare.
Arriving at Harv's Metro Car Wash in midtown Wednesday afternoon were two dark-suited IRS agents demanding payment of delinquent taxes. "They were deadly serious, very aggressive, very condescending," says Harv's owner, Aaron Zeff.
The really odd part of this: The letter that was hand-delivered to Zeff's on-site manager showed the amount of money owed to the feds was ... 4 cents.
4 cents. 4 CENTS, PEOPLE!
Seriously, I don't know whether to laugh or cry. But I would say that the IRS owe's Harv's Metro Carwash, as well as the citizens of Sacramento (if not the whole of California), a huge apology.
BECAUSE I'M PRETTY SURE THAT IT COST MORE THAN FOUR FUCKING CENTS TO SEND THOSE TWO X-FILESESQUE AGENTS DOWN TO HARV'S TO COLLECT WAY LESS THAN A FREAKING DOLLAR!
Talk about a waste of taxpayer money. Jesus Horatio Christ.
Words. There are no words.
Zeff, who also owns local parking lots and is the president of the Midtown Business Association, finds the situation a bit comical.
"It's hilarious," he says, "that two people hopped in a car and came down here for just 4 cents. I think (the IRS) may have a problem with priorities."
Geez, ya think?
DEAR INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE!
March 14, 2010
by Shiz
This really doesn't help your image. Please stop doing insanely stupid shit like this.
Sincerely,
The American People.
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UPDATE: After a check to make sure this story is true, I found out that it is, but with a slight twist that Bob Shallit's article didn't originally mention:
The bill sparked laughter until Zeff took a closer look at the final cost. After three years of penalties and fees, the four cent tax skyrocketed to more than $200.
"This is more like a parking ticket," he said.
Attorney Ashley West, the attorney for the car wash, said the IRS sent a letter in October saying the business had filed all required taxes and did not have a balance.
"It was a surprise to us that they came on site and surprise to us we didn't receive and correspondence related to it," West said.
So there we go.