‘It Is Immoral’: IRS Charges U.S. Vet For Missing Equipment…Nearly a Decade After the Fact
He said that on his way home from deployment, a bag containing much of his field equipment got lost.
“We went to the company commander and informed him. We went from company commander and went to the [commanding officer]. The CO said ‘OK, file charges’ of basically what we call a field loss. All this paperwork was done and turned in,” he said.
Fast-forward to 2014, nearly a decade after the incident: Barnum was sent a letter from the IRS notifying him that approximately $1,600 was being withheld from his tax return on account of the missing equipment.
He tried contacting the IRS, but his inquiries have been met with silence so far.
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Official U.S. Army regulations state Barnum should have been charged within three months of the loss of the equipment.
