So, previously I reported on how I had requested postage and handling after the IRS told me they owed me less than $1 and had to send them a letter requesting it to actually be cut a check. That original letter was sent out in June. In September I received an update indicating they were still figuring out how to respond. Today I received two letters from the IRS. One dated November, 9th and one November 10th, 2010. Below are the contents in part:

November 9th, 2010:

Dear Taxpayer:

We previously sent you a letter concerning your inquiry received July 09, 2010. Although we try to respond quickly, extensive research is often required. At this time we are unable to provide a complete response because:

Due to heavy workload, we have not yet completed our research to resolve your inquiry.

While waiting to hear from us, you can still make payments to reduce your tax liability and interest charges. …

Please allow an additional 45 days for us to obtain this information we need and to let you know what action we are taking.

November 10th, 2010:

Dear Taxpayer:

Thank you for your correspondence received July 09, 2010.

We have completed the transaction request package for your refund request and sent it forward for management approval. When that is done it will be sent to our Accounting center for input and generation of the refund check. We cannot reimburse you for the postage claim you submitted. Persons writing the IRS are responsible for their own postage expenses.

…

We apologize for any inconvenience, and thank your for your cooperation.

Sincerely yours,

Frank Jugo
Area Director, FA, Area 4

So… they tell me they are willing to return some of my money but because it’s less than $1 I have to ask for it explicitly otherwise they keep it. Instead of just cutting me the check in the first place.

I ask for postage and handling because combined they cost more than my refund and not only does it take 5ish months and a couple letters telling me they are still researching the request… but they then deny the request to cover the postage AND have to get the $0.60ish refund approved by management!

I’d love to know how much they spent on this above salary since the pencil pushers would be paid regardless of whether they got my letter or not. Four or five letters (each two pages), two envelops, plus the paperwork to make this all happen internally, plus the cutting of the check and it’s envelop. It’s got to be over 10x the refund.

I’ll post an update when the check or any other letters arrive.

http://governmentabuse.info

My new project. Been working on it off and on for a year. Finally and the motivation to really finish it up once I came across the Ushahidi project. The idea is to document abuses perpetrated by agents of the State. To provide a database, a means to document incidents, to visualize them.

Please check the site out. Contribute. Give me some feedback. Subscribe to the RSS feed, sign up for an alert, and if you know anyone who would like to help theme the site send them my way. Also, ‘Like’ the FB page.

Original story: http://blogofbile.com/2010/10/18/settlement-with-department-of-homeland-security-reached/

• LENS, New York Times: You Can Photograph That Federal Building by David W. Dunlap
• Courthouse News Service: U.S. Settles Lawsuit Over Courthouse Photo Ban by Barbara Leonard
• NECN: Settlement announced in NY lawsuit over photo ban
• Pixiq: Feds Agree to Settlement That Photography of Public Buildings is Legal by Carlos Miller
• Brooklyn Daily Eagle: Photography Now Officially Permitted Outside Federal Court
• The Olympian: Feds: People can snap photos outside courthouses
• Reason: Right to Take Photos of Federal Buildings Vindicated
• MSNBC: Feds: People can snap photos outside courthouses
• Harald Online: Feds: People can snap photos outside courthouses
• The Washington Post: Photographer wins settlement over arrest
• The Gothamist: Photographer’s Rights Upheld In Court
• PDN Online: Homeland Security To Allow Photography Outside Federal Buildings
• The DCist: Feds Affirm Photographers’ Rights
• The Washington Post, Federal Eye: Right to photograph federal buildings upheld
• Amateur Photographer: PHOTOGRAPHERS FORCE PICS IN PUBLIC POLICY U-TURN
• LA County Libertarian Examiner: Homeland Security settles with liberty activist, pays damages and concedes public’s right to film
• BoingBoing: Feds forced to admit that it’s legal to take pictures of federal buildings
• We Love DC: Photographers get a win
• Federal Jack: You Can Photograph That Federal Building
• British Journal of Photography: US Homeland Security deparment settles photography rights case
• Change.org: Court Rules It’s Safe to Take Pictures of Federal Buildings — But is It?
• The Washington Post: A win for shutterbugs
• About.com: Is It Illegal To Photograph Federal Buildings?

If you lived in New York City you could carry this 2009-04-03 NYPD Operations Order around to help protect yourself from NYPD officers harassing you for filming around the city.

If you were on “Federally Owned and Leased Facilities”, specifically land used by the DOT, you could use this bulletin to try to scare off the DHS.

Now if you happen to be on federal courthouse property (and likely any property covered by CFR Title 41, Subpart C, § 102-74.420) you can carry this. My settlement with the Department of Homeland Security regarding my arrest on November 9th, 2009. Below is a summary of the settlement.

1. The DHS admits that the § 102-74.420 does not “prohibit individuals from photographing (including motion photography) the exterior of federal courthouses from publicly accessible spaces, such as streets, sidewalks, parks and plazas; and FPS has not construed any other federal regulation or federal statute to prohibit such photography of the exterior of federal courthouses, though it makes no representation about local rules or orders.”
2. “FPS will provide a written instruction to its officers and employees engaged in law enforcement, stating that for federal courthouses under the protective jurisdiction of FPS, there are currently no general security regulations prohibiting exterior photography by individuals from publicly accessible spaces, absent a written local rule, regulation, or order. The instruction will also inform FPS officers and employees of the public’s general right to photograph the exterior of federal courthouses from publicly accessible spaces.”
3. “Nothing in this agreement precludes FPS or the United States, or any department, agency, agent, officer , or employee of the United States (collectively, the “Government”) or any law-enforcement officer from taking any legally permissible law-enforcement action, including but not limited to approaching any individual taking photographs and asking for the voluntary provision of information such as the purpose of taking the photographs or the identity of the individual, or taking lawful steps to ascertain whether unlawful activity, or reconnaissance for the purpose of a terrorist or unlawful act is being undertaken.”
4. FPS will pay the plaintiff $1500.
5. FPS will pay $3350 in legal fees.
6. I’ll get my memory card back when Julian Heicklen’s case is over.

NYCLU press release below:

Read More…

From our good friends at Liberty On Tour