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The Death of an Ethical Administrator
Monday, February 9th, 2009
Robert Wechsler
It's good to see that, upon his death, attention is being given to the
life of Donald C. Alexander, the IRS Commissioner who stood up to
President Nixon at the end of Nixon's time in office.
According to the New York Times obituary, among Alexander's accomplishments was disbanding the Special Services Staff of the IRS, which had been investigating Nixon's critics. Alexander said he did it because "political or social views, 'extremist' or otherwise, are irrelevant to taxation."
In fact, views are irrelevant to the administration of government in general, especially when it leads to favoritism, here not in the usual positive sense of using one's position to help one's friends, but in the negative sense of using one's position for personal vendettas, as Nixon did. This negative sort of favoritism is too often ignored, although it's not uncommon.
When a Democratic U.S. Senator started hearings on the IRS, he was immediately audited. Alexander stopped the audit.
Alexander was considered a stickler for proper procedure. A former IRS Commissioner called him "a straight arrow ... he always took positions in a tax controversy on a principled basis." In other words, he was an ethical administrator.
Nixon called Alexander "prissy." That's a high compliment from Nixon, against whom Alexander stood up out of prissy principle.
An important project for Alexander was making tax returns confidential, so that the information in them could not be abused by government officials. According to the Los Angeles Times obituary, Alexander said that "restrictions on seeing tax returns were so lax that the IRS ran virtually 'a lending library' of private tax data, and governors sometimes were shown tax records of their opponents."
A story in the L.A. Times obituary is worth sharing, in light of recent events:
Well, the Bush Administration took care of this problem: far fewer wealthy individuals are audited these days.
Also see the obituary in the Boston Globe.
Robert Wechsler
Director of Research-Retired, City Ethics
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According to the New York Times obituary, among Alexander's accomplishments was disbanding the Special Services Staff of the IRS, which had been investigating Nixon's critics. Alexander said he did it because "political or social views, 'extremist' or otherwise, are irrelevant to taxation."
In fact, views are irrelevant to the administration of government in general, especially when it leads to favoritism, here not in the usual positive sense of using one's position to help one's friends, but in the negative sense of using one's position for personal vendettas, as Nixon did. This negative sort of favoritism is too often ignored, although it's not uncommon.
When a Democratic U.S. Senator started hearings on the IRS, he was immediately audited. Alexander stopped the audit.
Alexander was considered a stickler for proper procedure. A former IRS Commissioner called him "a straight arrow ... he always took positions in a tax controversy on a principled basis." In other words, he was an ethical administrator.
Nixon called Alexander "prissy." That's a high compliment from Nixon, against whom Alexander stood up out of prissy principle.
An important project for Alexander was making tax returns confidential, so that the information in them could not be abused by government officials. According to the Los Angeles Times obituary, Alexander said that "restrictions on seeing tax returns were so lax that the IRS ran virtually 'a lending library' of private tax data, and governors sometimes were shown tax records of their opponents."
A story in the L.A. Times obituary is worth sharing, in light of recent events:
Alexander alerted [Treasury Secretary
George] Shultz in the early 1970s that Nixon's name came up
for an audit under the agency's randomized process. "A few minutes
later, he came back to me and said, 'We thought you'd like to tell him
yourself,' " Shultz recalled. "So I called Al Haig [the White House
chief of staff]. . . . An hour later, he called me back to say the
president is at Camp David, and he is up the wall over this -- the IRS
never audits a president."
Alexander proved that many previous presidents had been audited, and the Nixon audit went forward. It turned up a number of irregularities, which were leaked to the press and led to a special prosecutor's investigation. In the end, it was determined that the president owed more than $400,000 in back taxes and penalties.
Alexander proved that many previous presidents had been audited, and the Nixon audit went forward. It turned up a number of irregularities, which were leaked to the press and led to a special prosecutor's investigation. In the end, it was determined that the president owed more than $400,000 in back taxes and penalties.
Well, the Bush Administration took care of this problem: far fewer wealthy individuals are audited these days.
Also see the obituary in the Boston Globe.
Robert Wechsler
Director of Research-Retired, City Ethics
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