It's not just for tax purposes, but also police funding. In short, the legal loophole to unlawful seizures involves the police department giving the money to the feds. The feds give the seizing department 80% of it back, which they are then allowed to spend on anything they want. Some departments rely on the money to fund their budget, and I recall one even had a margarita maker in their list of purchases.
No one wants to fix it, because the federal government gets free money for no effort, the police departments get to keep most of what they take, and politicians can pretend this is doing something to prevent drug crime or terrorism.
Oh, and you don't get a public defender when you fight to get your money back either, because you haven't been charged with anything.
It's not just for tax purposes, but also police funding. In short, the legal loophole to unlawful seizures involves the police department giving the money to the feds. The feds give the seizing department 80% of it back, which they are then allowed to spend on anything they want. Some departments rely on the money to fund their budget, and I recall one even had a margarita maker in their list of purchases.
No one wants to fix it, because the federal government gets free money for no effort, the police departments get to keep most of what they take, and politicians can pretend this is doing something to prevent drug crime or terrorism.
Oh, and you don't get a public defender when you fight to get your money back either, because you haven't been charged with anything.