Federal bill bears Athens man’s name

In 2013, the IRS seized about $940,000 from Andrew Clyde, owner of the Atlanta Highway gun shop Clyde Armory. Clyde had regularly made cash deposits of just under $10,000 as he built up the balance. Clyde’s account was one of hundreds seized by the IRS for so-called “structuring.”

Clyde challenged the seizure in court and got most of his money back; minus $100,000 in legal fees and $50,000 he agreed to pay the IRS to get them to stop.

He didn’t stop there, though. He complained to former Georgia U.S. Rep. Paul Broun about the practice, and later testified about it before Congress.

The Clyde-Hirsch-Sowers RESPECT Act will make those limitations the law, along with the related Taxpayer Freedom Act.

The act’s sponsors include Democratic Rep. John Lewis, one of Georgia’s more liberal representatives, and Rep. Douglas Collins, one of its most conservative. The resolution passed unanimously in the House, and last week, unanimously in the Senate.

“Current law has been stretched far beyond its original purpose, opening the door for the IRS to abuse civil asset forfeiture, and leaving the burden of proof on law-abiding citizens to fight the federal government,” Collins said in a press release when he and Lewis introduced the bill in February.
   Source: Paul Broun for Congress