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Confessions of a Tax Collector : One Man's Tour of Duty Inside the IRS
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Confessions of a Tax Collector : One Man's Tour of Duty Inside the IRS
by Authors:
Richard Yancey
Hardcover Description:
Imagine if Brad Meltzer or John Grisham's first book had been a memoir about working for the Internal Revenue Service and you have an idea of just how thrilling Richard Yancey's Confessions of a Tax Collector: One Man's Tour of Duty Inside the IRS really is. Serving as a revenue agent--or, more informally, a tax collector--of the IRS for two years, Yancey went through strange transformations--from a tall, pencil-thin theater major, in an unforgiving relationship with no steady income, to a mean, muscle-wielding, unyielding revenue officer at the top of his game. What happens in between this tax collecting, money-hungry metamorphosis makes this memorable memoir the stuff of great fiction.
The Americans who shirk tax laws and responsibilities are inevitably tracked, coded, analyzed, pursued, and in general, marked for tax collection by a legion of government workers take center stage. "We have superior intelligence; we know more about our enemies' lives than they know about themselves. We know where they are. We know what they do. We know what they have. We will execute what they fear," Yancey writes. Just envision the line-up of misfits and average joes who populate the screen on Cops or America's Funniest Home Videos and you'll be close to imagining the range of people Yancey tangles with. Vengeful middle managers, hard-working small business owners, mean-spirited tax protestors, hardened tax evaders--the list of characters goes on and on. Every one of the people tracked within the walls of Yancey's local IRS office has the same, pitiful problem: the tax man cometh and the "beast needs to be fed." Equal parts love story, business tale, high-speed chase, and self-evolution, Yancey's Confessions of a Tax Collector packs plenty of human drama--all of it experienced and survived by one man. --E. Brooke Gilbert
Average Customer Rating:
A very entertaining book!
As a tax attorney, I was expecting/hoping this book to be a guide to the inner-workings of the IRS, and the book did not disappoint. However, I was pleasantly surprised to see that, while Yancey gracefully weaves in details about the organization of the IRS through the book, he also presents a compelling human story. The book was fast-paced, and enjoyable. Most interestingly, I felt strong emotions about the characters in the book, from the narrator, to the tax protestors, to yancey's co-workers, etc. Anyone with an office job should enjoy this book. To suggest that this is just a book about collecting taxes is as misleading as saying that the sopranos is just about a mob-- both are ultimately about people!
I've noticed some other commenters lamenting the fact that the book can be sensationalist and perhaps inaccurate at times. I think, however, that it should be obvious to the reader when Yancey is yanking our chain a little bit in order to add some spice to the story, and when he is perhaps exaggerating aspects of the service or his co-workers for comedic or dramatic effect.
If you are looking for the next Pynchon novel, this isn't it, but it is a *fun* read, and it's definitely educational.
One of the best tell-alls of recent years: yes, the IRS is a thrill ride
How exciting can the confessions of an IRS man be? VERY! Yancey manages to humanize the IRS (while still acknowledging why they are so detestable) and he made me come away angry at people who avoid paying their income taxes. Some IRS officers mentioned receiving thank-you's from people whose businesses they had seized--in hindsight, these citizens realized that continually borrowing to pay costs and taxes on an unprofitable business was causing them to drown. As a tax-paying citizen, I realized I don't have much sympathy for those who avoid their duty.
Yancey did an outstanding job explaining the basics of collecting taxes without getting mired in the details. In one anecdote, Yancey explains that an IRS officer killed a dog that was attacking him during the seizure. The (non)taxpayer sued and won, so the IRS had to pay out, but they levied their own payments for the amount of the back taxes and got full tax compliance. Another bit of wisdom the tax collector passed on was never to seize anything live (like a worm farm, a pet store, or livestock), because you got stuck with the feeding and upkeep in the interim.
The book takes a thrilling detective-like turn when Yancey goes undercover to root out tax protesters, the people who maintain the Social Security is voluntary, the 16th Amendment was never ratified, and the IRS is a private business incorporated in Delaware. Overall this book is a story of personal growth, an expose of the IRS, some touching and funny personal anecdotes, and a thrilling ride.
What a fun read!
I read this book in one day. It's definately not going to change the world - it was just fun! Mr. Yancey has some great stories to tell about the well loved IRS. The book reads like a good fiction novel, except of course for the deadbeats in the story who are all real. Enjoy.
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A very entertaining book! 
