I’ve been listening to Fox News on my XM Radio on the way to and from work for the past few days in order to get the latest war coverage.  It’s simply an audio feed directly off their cable TV network, except for the commercials.  They run special content during the commercial breaks on XM, most of which appear to be filler (entertainment updates, consumer watch segments, etc).  One of these I heard yesterday purported to be a “financial news update.”  The whole segment was spent explaining how you could get a reward for turning in a tax cheat to the IRS. 

The whole thing rubbed me the wrong way.  It was advocating turning in people you know to the government for a non-violent crime.  I don’t have a problem with rewards programs for real crimes, but for tax cheats?  It sounds like a recipe for disaster.  All it would take would be one disgruntled former spouse, lover, or even employee to turn someone’s life upside down.  There’s a reason that the IRS is the most feared and hated agency in the US government.

Oh, and they reminded you to report your reward on your next tax return.  Wouldn’t want to cheat Uncle Sam, would you?