Go ahead and quit your day jobs, Revenuers
Remember back at the start of 2007 when Tennessee Department of Revenue Commissioner Reagan Farr questioned whether Drew Johnson's free-market watchdog advocacy group was a "legitimate organization"?
For close to a year and a half (as recently as three weeks ago), evangelical global-warming liturgists, doomsaying climate-change diviners and crusading Church of Al Gore congregationalists have approvingly plastered the Tennessee tax tsar's bungling misapprehension of legality and reality all over the leftard blogosphere (although not so much the editorial upbraiding his dereliction of public servant's duty later elicited).
Well, now it's Johnson and the Tennessee Center for Policy Research's turn to question if Farr's the one who's fer farkin' real.
A two-part Nashville NewsChannel 5 expose' (here and here) this week showed videos that depict cacophonous ensembles of melodiously challenged (by Music City, USA standards, at least) Tennessee revenue department office mopes and union dopes dancing and prancing about while belting out show-stoppingly insipid and tasteless little lyrical tributes exalting the glories of audits, forced-tribute and legal plunder.
Given lengthy mug-time and ample opportunity to explain his merry band of state-sanctioned pocket-pickers' on-the-clock hijinks, Farr claims it's all very legitimate, you understand — an indispensable part of "all-day intensive training sessions with relevant and substantive agendas" at the department's all-expenses-paid "Team Week" (or "Fuck Fest," as it is purportedly called by participants) at the luxurious Opryland Hotel.
Farr wasn't in charge of the tax-happy revenue-bureaucrat revue when it performed the tin-tuned spoofs and burlesque taxpayer lampoons, but he nevertheless finds value in their musical efforts.
"They are not skits just around parodies or fun. They are skits with the purpose of delivering a message," he maintains. They "could have had a very valid business purpose...You know, there's all types of team building that our training office does."
Judge for yourself if such "team building" is, as one department memo solemnly insists, "critical for auditors and special investigations agents to adequately perform their job duties." From the Channel 5 story:
"It's my audit,
And I'll tax if I want to.
Tax if I want to.
Tax if I want to."
Some of the videos from a week-long revenue department training session may be silly, perhaps even a bit embarrassing, but according to revenue commissioner Reagan Farr, the videos were basically harmless.
"As long as all those things have the net goal of team building, breaking down bridges or communicating an important message, I have no problem with that," Farr told NewsChannel 5's chief investigative reporter Phil Williams.
At the same time, some tax watchdogs said listen to the lyrics - "Taxpayer, watch out! Watch out for me!" - and you'll hear a definite, anti-taxpayer message.
"We the taxpayers are paying these Department of Revenue staffers to sing songs about how they are out to get us," said Drew Johnson of the Tennessee Center for Policy Research.
Williams told the commissioner, "This is your auditors singing about frightening taxpayers."
"Well, they are the ones on the chain gang," Farr responded. "I mean, I don't know, generally its better not to be part of the chain."
"It's just very anti-taxpayer. We see that song after song," Johnson said.
One song celebrated a ruling against a taxpayer.
"Do your people have fun denying claims?" Williams asked Farr.
"You know, I don't know," the commissioner answered. "What's important to me is did they follow all of our rules and procedures in denying it or not."
In another video, auditors worry about not digging up any dirt in an audit.
"So are auditors screwed if they don't find anything on the taxpayers?" Williams questioned the commissioner.
"No," Farr insisted. "We audit for compliance. I have no problem, as long as we do our work, if that audit results in a refund."
Then, there's video that shows revenue staffers dancing at what appears to be a funeral.
"We apparently have a dead taxpayer and a grieving widow and these people dancing around to a 50 Cent song," Johnson observed.
For close to a year and a half (as recently as three weeks ago), evangelical global-warming liturgists, doomsaying climate-change diviners and crusading Church of Al Gore congregationalists have approvingly plastered the Tennessee tax tsar's bungling misapprehension of legality and reality all over the leftard blogosphere (although not so much the editorial upbraiding his dereliction of public servant's duty later elicited).
Well, now it's Johnson and the Tennessee Center for Policy Research's turn to question if Farr's the one who's fer farkin' real.
A two-part Nashville NewsChannel 5 expose' (here and here) this week showed videos that depict cacophonous ensembles of melodiously challenged (by Music City, USA standards, at least) Tennessee revenue department office mopes and union dopes dancing and prancing about while belting out show-stoppingly insipid and tasteless little lyrical tributes exalting the glories of audits, forced-tribute and legal plunder.
Given lengthy mug-time and ample opportunity to explain his merry band of state-sanctioned pocket-pickers' on-the-clock hijinks, Farr claims it's all very legitimate, you understand — an indispensable part of "all-day intensive training sessions with relevant and substantive agendas" at the department's all-expenses-paid "Team Week" (or "Fuck Fest," as it is purportedly called by participants) at the luxurious Opryland Hotel.
Farr wasn't in charge of the tax-happy revenue-bureaucrat revue when it performed the tin-tuned spoofs and burlesque taxpayer lampoons, but he nevertheless finds value in their musical efforts.
"They are not skits just around parodies or fun. They are skits with the purpose of delivering a message," he maintains. They "could have had a very valid business purpose...You know, there's all types of team building that our training office does."
Judge for yourself if such "team building" is, as one department memo solemnly insists, "critical for auditors and special investigations agents to adequately perform their job duties." From the Channel 5 story:
Ever since NewsChannel 5 Investigates first aired the "Tax Tunes" videos, it's caused quite the stir among state employees. Some said it's just a harmless training exercise.
On the other hand, what really makes the videos interesting was to hear how Tennessee's tax collectors sing and joke about taxpayers.
The faces of Tennessee's faceless tax collectors - auditors who sang gleeful songs like "Tax Fever" about auditing. One group chimed:"It's my audit,
And I'll tax if I want to.
Tax if I want to.
Tax if I want to."
Some of the videos from a week-long revenue department training session may be silly, perhaps even a bit embarrassing, but according to revenue commissioner Reagan Farr, the videos were basically harmless.
"As long as all those things have the net goal of team building, breaking down bridges or communicating an important message, I have no problem with that," Farr told NewsChannel 5's chief investigative reporter Phil Williams.
At the same time, some tax watchdogs said listen to the lyrics - "Taxpayer, watch out! Watch out for me!" - and you'll hear a definite, anti-taxpayer message.
"I'll be there
To come and audit you.
I'll be there.
No matter what you do."
To come and audit you.
I'll be there.
No matter what you do."
"We the taxpayers are paying these Department of Revenue staffers to sing songs about how they are out to get us," said Drew Johnson of the Tennessee Center for Policy Research.
"Oh, oh, we're toiling on the chain gang.
And we're frightening taxpayers while we're working
On the chain gang."
And we're frightening taxpayers while we're working
On the chain gang."
Williams told the commissioner, "This is your auditors singing about frightening taxpayers."
"Well, they are the ones on the chain gang," Farr responded. "I mean, I don't know, generally its better not to be part of the chain."
"Some taxpayers only believe in fairy tales.
They don't have a clue to what we tax."
They don't have a clue to what we tax."
"It's just very anti-taxpayer. We see that song after song," Johnson said.
One song celebrated a ruling against a taxpayer.
"Commissioner Page called down in rage,
Looking for a penalty waiver.
We said it's done, and we had fun
Denying the claim."
Looking for a penalty waiver.
We said it's done, and we had fun
Denying the claim."
"Do your people have fun denying claims?" Williams asked Farr.
"You know, I don't know," the commissioner answered. "What's important to me is did they follow all of our rules and procedures in denying it or not."
In another video, auditors worry about not digging up any dirt in an audit.
"We all remember being blue,
Another audit no tax due.
We were sure that we were screwed.
The day the bills went through."
Another audit no tax due.
We were sure that we were screwed.
The day the bills went through."
"So are auditors screwed if they don't find anything on the taxpayers?" Williams questioned the commissioner.
"No," Farr insisted. "We audit for compliance. I have no problem, as long as we do our work, if that audit results in a refund."
Then, there's video that shows revenue staffers dancing at what appears to be a funeral.
"We apparently have a dead taxpayer and a grieving widow and these people dancing around to a 50 Cent song," Johnson observed.
"Go. Go. Go, money.
It's your tax day.
We're gonna party.
Like it your tax day."
It's your tax day.
We're gonna party.
Like it your tax day."
"Is this what the department of revenue thinks of us, the taxpayers?" Johnson asked. "We die and maybe they should audit our family and see if they can get more money?"
"I think most of this was done in fairly good fun," Farr said.
"Some taxpayers won't be too happy to hear these sorts of jokes being made at their expense," Williams said.
"I'm sure they won't," Farr replied.
"I think most of this was done in fairly good fun," Farr said.
"Some taxpayers won't be too happy to hear these sorts of jokes being made at their expense," Williams said.
"I'm sure they won't," Farr replied.
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