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IRS Gets Hacked Again, Forced To Scrap Their Entire PIN System (engadget.com)
The IRS has abandoned a system of PIN numbers used when filing tax returns online after they detected "automated attacks taking place at an increasing frequency," adding that only "a small number" of taxpayers were affected. An anonymous reader quotes the highlights from Engadget:
The IRS chose not to kill the tool back in February, since most commercial tax software products use it... If you'll recall, identity thieves used malware to steal taxpayers' info from other websites, which was then used to generate 100,000 PINs, back in February... This time, the IRS detected "automated attacks taking place at an increasing frequency" thanks to the additional defenses it added after that initial hack... the agency determined that it would be safer to give up on a verification method that's scheduled for the chopping block anyway.
What's obsolete is any US citizen having to file federal taxes in the first place. Change it to a system of state income, state sales, and/or state property taxes. Each state can choose their system. The counties and states collect the revenue, and they pay the feds.
You should only have to deal with your local taxing authority where you actually live, not some unaccountable bureaucrats in DC. The states created the fed, let them deal with the consequences of that action.