A training video created by the Internal Revenue Service that parodies a popular science fiction series is infuriating Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley. The video mirrors the original TV show “Star Trek,” as the Starship Enterprise-wide has sent a landing party to the planet Notaxia, where it’s chaos.
The six-minute video cost $60,000 to produce. Senator Grassley was stunned at the price, saying, “It’s a terrible waste of money and hopefully, from all the bad publicity it’s getting, IRS is going to learn a lesson and use their money more effectively in the future.”
Grassley says there’s no excuse for this type of lavish overspending. He acknowledges training videos can be helpful, but he’s not heard of any serious problems at the tax-collection agency that would merit an expensive video. Grassley says, “I don’t think you pick up the phone to get information from the IRS and you can ask the same question to two different people and get two different answers, so I think it’s important they have training, but I think this was a waste of the taxpayers’ money.”
The video features IRS workers on the bridge of the fictional starship, playing various roles, including a Vulcan, complete with pointy ears. A second IRS video is also under fire, a parady of “Gilligan’s Island.”
The agency has issued a statement saying the videos were a mistake, it’s making strict policy changes at its in-house studio, and the release adds, this type of video won’t be made again. See the video below: