About book Confessions Of A Tax Collector: One Man's Tour Of Duty Inside The IRS (2004)
Subtitled "One Man's Tour of Duty Inside the IRS". Richard Yancey, not the name he worked under, served as a Revenue Officer for approximately thirteen years, some of it in North Florida. As a long time IRS employee myself (19 years, 10 months), although not in Collections, I was interested to see what Yancey had to say. I'm sorry to report that I was somewhat disappointed. Although the technical side is dead on and I'll be among the first to admit that there are strange people both in and out of the Service, the level of exaggeration and lack of balance ruined the experience for me. Yancey, a frustrated writer, takes the various archetypes and melds them into the people he knew through his career. Again, Florida does have some fantastically stupid, annoying, and aggravating people working there, particularly in positions of management, but there's a fine line between non-fiction and fiction. To my mind, Yancey pushed a bit too far over it.If asked, I would say that this is a book that would be better read by a current or former IRS employee, especially someone who had the experience of working with or around Revenue Officers. Outsiders would definitely get the wrong idea about the Service, either thinking all are crazy or dismissing the real moments as pure fiction.Yancey is extraordinarily honest about his own issues, from a lack of self-esteem that even causes him to allow his fiancee to physically and emotionally beat him up. That is something he himself also does, first by trying to emulate one of his first On-the-Job Instructors, later by exercising to the extreme in an effort to change his physical appearance. I would hope that his barely glimpsed epiphany near the end of the book was sufficient to enrich his life and those around him.My own personal story in regards to my time with the IRS was fantastically wonderful for almost 14 years, uncomfortable for two, and pure hell for the last three years, until I couldn't take it any longer and quit. A miscalculation by the IRS personnel office made me leave shy of my 20, but I cannot regret it. It was during the last year of my mother's life and I would not have been able to dedicate my attention or time to my job, something that wouldn't have gone over well with my immediate managers. Abuse of power and the abuse of front-line employees was the norm in the office I worked out of, and from what other offices stated, not uncommon. Florida was infamous for the abuses and Union grievances, although nothing was ever done by upper management, so little of the complaints woven through this book surprise me.
This book was interesting, but lacked some of the "gory" details of tax collecting. Or maybe the details are not actually very gory, so that is why he didn't tell them. One thing that was weird is the book jacket references some things that sound really interesting, like the author had to use a fake name while he was a tax collector and the name had to be approved by the governemnt...but he never actually talked about that in the book. The end of the book, actually the very last sentence, made me say 'awww, sweet!' The rest of it just sounded miserable. Not miserable read, but miserable to read about. I don't think I would enjoy that sort of work environment or having such power over other people's lives (the ability and duty to take everything they own and make them homeless). As for the IRS, last year I forgot to send my Schedule A. That is the document that tells the IRS what the deductions on your 1040 actually are. Without it they just assume you have put in some bogus amount and then adjust the calculations to show a standard deduction. Then they send you a letter and insist that you to send them money, PLUS interest. I sent them my Schedule A and a request for my tax refund, PLUS interest. I'm still waiting to get the interest.
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In "Confessions of a Tax Collector," Richard Yancey tells the story of his time working for the IRS. At the time, Yancey was an aimless twenty-something with no career path and a live-in fiancee he had no plans to marry who viewed tax collection as his last shot at success. As a tax collector, Yancey sees some of the worst American society can offer--and finds a new side of himself, a person who is more focused, but also less connected to humanity.The story is fascinating, and told with flair. And in the end, Yancey leaves tax collection behind to write his memoir, and American ending if ever there was one.
—Beckie
This book is about how a job can destroy a man's soul. As one who is yet to start his professional career, I was curious to find out the harsh realities of the 9 to 5 lifestyle. The book on occasion is very witty and humorous but fails to grab the reader's attention, primarily because of the author's tendency to digress along various irrelevant tangents. I also found myself unable to empathize with any of the characters which made this book less enjoyable than it could have been. The second half of the book when the author begins his downward spiral drags on with very little progress in the story and then it comes to an abrupt end. By the time I reached the end, I couldn't help but feel that the author is just blaming his job for his deteriorating mental condition rather than the environment he created for himself.
—Sandesh
This book started out as an informative peek into life working for the IRS. unfortunately the author started trying to tie in his own descent into madness -maybe related to his job, but it sounds like he was kind of strange bird to begin with - but I found his whole downward spiral a little boring. I didnt really care about him or get why he was turning into such a freak. I mean what kind of man wears colored contacts? granted this was the early-to-mid-nineties. anyhow, it did make me wonder how the hell anyone thinks they can get away with not paying large amounts of taxes. I would probably get very cynical and bitter if I were an IRS revenue officer. I was not wild about this book.
—Molly
