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| IRS apologises for $60,000 Star Trek parody – but stands by Gilligan's Island | IRS apologises for $60,000 Star Trek parody – but stands by Gilligan's Island |
| (10 days later) | |
| The IRS has apologized for spending tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars to film a Star Trek parody, but has defended the value of Gilligan's Island parody made at the same time. The agency estimates that total expenditures were about $60,000. | The IRS has apologized for spending tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars to film a Star Trek parody, but has defended the value of Gilligan's Island parody made at the same time. The agency estimates that total expenditures were about $60,000. |
| The Star Trek video features a spaceship on a "never-ending mission to seek out new tax reforms, to explore strange new regulations, to boldly go where no government employee has gone before". They set off to the planet Notax, whose fiscally irresponsible aliens live in chaos. The six-minute video has special effects, elaborate costumes, and two crewmen banter: "Back in Russia, I dreamed someday I'd be rich and famous." "Me too. That's why I became a public servant." The ship's captain throws up his hands in dismay as the crewmen bump fists. | The Star Trek video features a spaceship on a "never-ending mission to seek out new tax reforms, to explore strange new regulations, to boldly go where no government employee has gone before". They set off to the planet Notax, whose fiscally irresponsible aliens live in chaos. The six-minute video has special effects, elaborate costumes, and two crewmen banter: "Back in Russia, I dreamed someday I'd be rich and famous." "Me too. That's why I became a public servant." The ship's captain throws up his hands in dismay as the crewmen bump fists. |
| In its apology to Congress, the IRS determined that the video, which was played for a leadership conference, did not have enough educational content to justify its cost. | In its apology to Congress, the IRS determined that the video, which was played for a leadership conference, did not have enough educational content to justify its cost. |
| The 16-minute Gilligan's Island video, on the other hand, has the castaways discussing "Field Assistance TACs" and how best to help taxpayers, via labored metaphors of rafts and life vests. The tax collectors make inside jokes rife with acronyms, but the video contains far more direct instructional content than its Star Trek counterpart. The introduction to a 12-hour training series, the IRS defended the video as part of a campaign that saved an estimated $1.5m in 2011, which it would have otherwise spent in personal training. | The 16-minute Gilligan's Island video, on the other hand, has the castaways discussing "Field Assistance TACs" and how best to help taxpayers, via labored metaphors of rafts and life vests. The tax collectors make inside jokes rife with acronyms, but the video contains far more direct instructional content than its Star Trek counterpart. The introduction to a 12-hour training series, the IRS defended the video as part of a campaign that saved an estimated $1.5m in 2011, which it would have otherwise spent in personal training. |
| Republican congressman Charles Boustany, chairman of the House ways and means subcommittee, demanded answers in a letter to IRS Commissioner Steven Miller (pdf) on 20 March. After the agency's apology two days later, Boustany said in a statement: "There is nothing more infuriating to a taxpayer than to find out the government is using their hard-earned dollars in a way that is frivolous. The IRS admitted as much when it disclosed that it no longer produces such videos." | Republican congressman Charles Boustany, chairman of the House ways and means subcommittee, demanded answers in a letter to IRS Commissioner Steven Miller (pdf) on 20 March. After the agency's apology two days later, Boustany said in a statement: "There is nothing more infuriating to a taxpayer than to find out the government is using their hard-earned dollars in a way that is frivolous. The IRS admitted as much when it disclosed that it no longer produces such videos." |
| The IRS, while defending the various video series it films in its Maryland studio, did not stick to its phasers on the Star Trek video. It said: "There is no mistaking that this video did not reflect the best stewardship of resources … A video of this type would not be made today." | The IRS, while defending the various video series it films in its Maryland studio, did not stick to its phasers on the Star Trek video. It said: "There is no mistaking that this video did not reflect the best stewardship of resources … A video of this type would not be made today." |
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