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...It should not be surprising, then, that the US government is now cracking down on Americans who have outstanding tax bills — by holding their passports hostage. This could affect more than 360,000 Americans.Former Congressman Bob Barr notes this week :In an extremely troubling move three years ago, the Republican-controlled Congress handed the Internal Revenue Service the power to strip individuals of one of the most important and tangible rights possessed by American citizens – their passports. The Service is now starting to use this hammer.Barr rightly points out that, given we already know the IRS uses its power to target political enemies, this new power of the agency is especially troubling.He also asks how long other agencies might demand similar power from Congress, such as the power to stop a citizen's ability to "secure a driver’s license, obtain[...] a loan from a federally-insured financial institution, or clear[...] a background check prior to purchasing a firearm?".....https://mises.org/wire/you-now-cant-leave-us-unless-irs-lets-you
I don't see why people would have a problem with this...are we just supposed to let tax cheats leave the country and escape punishment?
They didn't say cheats, they said anyone who has an outstanding tax bill. Cheats implies criminal behavior, but hundreds of thousands of people who aren't criminals or cheats have outstanding bills with payment arrangements with the IRS. Having an outstanding bill is not a crime.