The IRS is killing babies to raise tax revenue!

Yes, I know, it is an insane and controversial statement. But in the absurd there is some truth. The IRS has been disallowing the deduction for donating buildings for firefighters to train in.

In the past, you could donate a building or home that was slated for destruction to the local fire department so they could use it for training exercises. The donation was deemed a tax deductible donation so you got the benefit and the firefighters were able to have some great training. So great that they may have saved a babies life or two because of it.

Now the IRS is saying that the donations are not deductible because the building was slated for destruction anyway. I say Balderdash! The old truck I just donated to the American Kidney Fund was slated for destruction in my mind, but the Kidney Fund found enough value in it to take it as a deduction. The homes have a huge value to the families who are saved by well trained firefighters.

Now, instead of going through the hassle of letting the fire department train in a home that was going to be destroyed, building owners are going to just bring in the low cost wrecking crews and a tremendous value will be lost.

All because the IRS wants to deny some deductions to keep revenues up. Is it all that absurd to say that the IRS is killing babies to raise revenue now? Not really…

The whole idea of a charitable deduction is that you give something to charity and you don’t get anything back, right?” said Paul Caron, a tax scholar at the University of Cincinnati. “When you give $100 to the Catholic Church, you don’t get anything for that $100.”

The IRS maintains in court papers in the Wisconsin case that the homeowners do not qualify for a deduction because they are donating only a “partial interest” in their home, rather than the entire property. The agency also says homeowners are letting firefighters only use the property, not donating it in full.

But a lot of work goes into preparing a house to be burned down, including a detailed inspection by environmental authorities, said Terry Grady, a lawyer representing Hendrix, who wants the IRS to refund him $100,590 in “erroneously collected” taxes. Hendrix built a new house on the property.

“They have to, in fact, pay their mortgage off. They have to make sure there’s no asbestos in the house,” Grady said. “And you know, conversely, the benefits to the fire department are just immense.” via Google

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