Rand Paul: How feds can legally steal your money

And now, a growing awareness of instances where the IRS seized the money or property of law-abiding citizens without due process is adding to the agency’s menacing reputation. According to the Institute for Justice, a public interest law firm that investigates civil forfeiture practices, these seizures carried out by the IRS had increased from 114 in 2005 to 639 in 2012.

Sounds unbelievable, but believe it.

Under a federal structuring statute, banks are required to report all cash deposits of more than $10,000 to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network of the U.S. Treasury. To prevent money laundering, deposits purposely “structured” to evade this reporting are illegal. Enter the IRS.

Read CNNOpinion’s new Flipboard magazine.

Follow us on Twitter @CNNOpinion.

Join us on Facebook.com/CNNOpinion.

CNN