US contractor attacks IRS. With his 'plane

[Flashman]

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/19/us/19tax.html

Sounds very familiar.

In his suicide note, the computer software engineer who flew a small plane into a building with Internal Revenue Service offices in Texas on Thursday cited a 1986 tax law as a major motivation for his action.

The law, known as Section 1706 of the 1986 Tax Reform Act, made it extremely difficult for information technology professionals to work as self-employed individuals, forcing most to become company employees.

Many software engineers and other such professionals say that the law denies them the opportunity to become wealthy entrepreneurs and that it makes it harder to increase and refine their skills, eventually diminishing their income.

Harvey J. Shulman, a Washington lawyer who represented companies that supported the desires of software engineers to be independent contractors, estimated that the law currently affects at least 100,000 such people.

“This law has ruined many people’s lives, hurt the technology industry, and discouraged the creation of small, independent businesses critical to a thriving domestic economy,”

On Wednesday, the day before Andrew Joseph Stack III left his suicide note and crashed the plane into the building in Austin, the Obama administration proposed a widespread crackdown on all types of independent contractors in an effort to raise $7 billion in tax revenue over 10 years

[Scary]

It's an interesting read.

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive...102stack1.html

[Sockpuppet]

Terrorism has to to be continued attacks, or at least the threat of continued attacks. Al Quaeda might do it again, so there's reason to be afraid. This bloke won't be terrorising anybody now.

How do we know he's not the first of a new terrorist group?

[VectraMan]

Terrorism has to to be continued attacks, or at least the threat of continued attacks. Al Quaeda might do it again, so there's reason to be afraid. This bloke won't be terrorising anybody now.

[Sockpuppet]

The purpose of terrorists is to kill other in order to terrorise and force into submission for their goals.

That guy does not fit this definition.

Unless his goal was a tax rebate.

[AtW]

The purpose of terrorists is to kill other in order to terrorise and force into submission for their goals.

That guy does not fit this definition.

[d000hg]

Is one person being pissed off to the point of violence classed as terrorism? Don't terrorists have to have some claimed political/religious/social motivation which drives their actions?

[Clippy]

An act of terrorism is a criminal act.

So, it's a reporting issue?

i.e 9/11 was/is widely reported from an 'act of terrorism' perspective whereas an incident such as this is being reported from a 'criminal act' perspective.

Just struck me that whenever 9/11 was reported, don't recall it being described as a criminal act.

Thanks for clarifying.

[NickFitz]

Why is this not classified as an act of terrorism ala 9/11?

In both scenarios, the motive of the perpetrators was to inflict (maximum) damage to the intended target.

(BTW, I am seriously asking).

Edit: Thinking about it, in 9/11, perhaps the act of hijacking the planes was the act of terrorism whereas the act of flying them into the twin towers was a criminal act?

An act of terrorism is a criminal act.

[AtW]

In both scenarios, the motive of the perpetrators was to inflict (maximum) damage to the intended target.

Light aircraft can't inflict maximum damage.

[Clippy]

Officials at the US Department of Homeland Security said it was a 'deliberate criminal act' and that Mr Stack was the registered owner of the plane.

Why is this not classified as an act of terrorism ala 9/11?

In both scenarios, the motive of the perpetrators was to inflict (maximum) damage to the intended target.

(BTW, I am seriously asking).

Edit: Thinking about it, in 9/11, perhaps the act of hijacking the planes was the act of terrorism whereas the act of flying them into the twin towers was a criminal act?

[realityhack]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worl...ing-Texas.html

He should have vented his spleen on here and let it all out.

A possible lurker? His suicide note is based upon Threaded's signature:

'I saw it written once that the definition of insanity is repeating the same process over and over and expecting the outcome to suddenly be different,' it said. 'I am finally ready to stop this insanity.
'Well, Mr. Big Brother IRS man, let's try something different; take my pound of flesh and sleep well.'

Edit: Yes, it is rather parochial of me to pick up on that, but it was worth mentioning.

[NotAllThere]

I knew a guy who last year was essentially implementing global support after a takeover, for the princely sum of $40 per hour. It would have been higher, but he took the lower rate for some of the employee benefits - health care and stuff like that.

[LegendsWear7]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worl...ing-Texas.html

He should have vented his spleen on here and let it all out.

Never worked in the States but isn't a contractor there on less money than a perm ? A mate was a contractor for eBay in Silicon Valley and was working crazy hours hoping they would offer him a regular staff job for higher income and the health package.