What If the IRS Asked Website Visitors to 'Like' President Obama on Facebook?

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December 31, 2011

What If the IRS Asked Website Visitors to 'Like' President Obama on Facebook?

Mary O'Keeffe (Union College) agreed to let me share her interesting post today on the TaxProf email discussion group with the broader tax community:

I was shocked when I went to the (normally sedate) New York State Tax Department website this morning. About 20% of the real estate on their front page was given to a rather garish promotion from Gov Cuomo's office concerning issues that had little to do with tax policy (a press release about the upcoming State of the State message and an announcement that the governor is reopening the ice skating rink near the State Capitol for public skating.)

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Most egregiously, there was an instruction to "Like" Gov. Cuomo on Facebook. ... I was taken aback?at the notion that?the NYS Tax Dept would?tell me to "like" the governor.

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One can only imagine the outraged reaction if the IRS website frontpage encouraged taxpayers to "like" President Obama and used up 20% of the space on the irs.gov page to promote him!

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The equivalent at the state level seems equally inappropriate to me.? I am interested in whether others agree.

December 31, 2011 in IRS News, Tax | Permalink

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Comments

I assume the Republican's "outraged reaction" would serve as proof of their racism.
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Who are we kidding, as a Democratic President and Obama to boot, there would be no major newspaper or TV coverage and the story would just go away.

Posted by: lobo | Dec 31, 2011 9:09:13 PM

Thanks, you just gave the Obamatrons an idea.

Posted by: amenjohnson | Dec 31, 2011 9:34:54 PM

That's just creepy. I'd be very uncomfortable with it, even if the governor in question was someone with whom I agreed politically.

Posted by: Wacky Hermit | Dec 31, 2011 9:38:04 PM

Agree with O'Keeffe. The instruction to "like" the governor (or the president) would not be so objectionable, however, if Facebook offered a "detest" option.

Posted by: Jake | Dec 31, 2011 9:42:36 PM

I agree.

Posted by: Darren | Dec 31, 2011 9:42:46 PM

You know why they haven't asked us to "like" BHC? They hadn't thought of it!

Posted by: Steven | Dec 31, 2011 9:48:24 PM

Only if included a prominent picture of Governor Dearest.

Posted by: M. Report | Dec 31, 2011 9:50:41 PM

I agree, that's pretty creepy.

Posted by: Zilla | Dec 31, 2011 10:01:52 PM

No. It would have been inappropriate if President George W. Bush had done it. It will be inappropriate if some future Republican president does it. But it would be totally appropriate, and way cool, too, for President Barack H. Obama to do it.

In fact, President Obama is so awesome that Facebook should automatically have each of us "like" him and "friend" him, and they should put the opt-out options on the IRS website.

Posted by: Murgatroyd | Dec 31, 2011 10:08:15 PM

If they had a "dislike" option they might get more response...

Posted by: Phil in Englewood | Dec 31, 2011 10:13:01 PM

Mary is right to be shocked. Whether at national, state, county, or city level the "government" at that level should be totally neutral to their elected leader. Anything else is breaking through the traditional separations of three branches inherent in many of these tiers of government.

Go get 'em Mary!

Posted by: Frank M | Dec 31, 2011 10:24:54 PM

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