IRS Develops Analytics Technology In Order To Rob More Americans Of Their Money

Tahoe Bonanza
Posted: 2007-10-05 20:22:16

We hear that some 13,000 of you may soon find a greeting card in the mail from the Revenooers - no, not a Christmas card, but an audit notice - if you're (un)lucky enough to be selected by the IRS for inclusion in the next edition of their National Research Program.

Sounds like a hifalutin think tank project, but it's just another term for an audit program - one designed to close the tax gap, and allow the government to develop any number of new statistics and algorithms for use in future targeting more of we and thee who are perceived to be "high payoff" audit targets. And these audits are no fun - typically no jot or tittle on your return goes unquestioned. Get your records in order if they come after you for one of these.

"That will allow the IRS to do a better job of choosing taxpayers for audit who have a higher probability of errors on their returns," said Mark Mazur, recently. He's the IRS director for research, analysis and statistics in Washington, D.C.

"The data also can help us determine if there's a need to change the law, outreach programs or enforcement practices," Mazur added.

Outreach programs??

And some good news, this week, from the administration - Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez have expressed the view that the Senate should move to make permanent the moratorium on taxes of Internet access and electronic commerce. As we recall, the current "moratorium" on such levies expires on Nov. 1 - having been in place since 1998. But along the way, only temporary extensions have been implemented because, frankly, nobody can figure out just how any such tax might actually work. And a good thing, indeed, inasmuch as the cost of Internet access could rise by as much as 17 percent, according to a recent Reuters story, if the moratorium were allowed to expire.

And as Oct. 15 creeps up on all of you last-minute 2006 tax return filers out there, don't forget that there is some dough to be claimed by all of you when it comes to the telephone excise credit available to everybody on their 2006 returns. Thanks to Raphael Tulino, IRS Media Relations guru, who points out that of the 1.17 million individual returns filed by Nevadans through the end of August, an estimated 350,000 of them failed to request the excise tax credit! At $30 a clip (the grandiose sum available to every individual), that's over $10 million left on the table for Uncle Sam. And among California filers, some 4.3 million folks have failed to claim their share - leaving $128 million more for Uncle Sam to spend wisely.

A million here, a million there ... pretty soon you're talking about real money!

This article contains general information about various tax matters. You should consult your CPA regarding your own particular situation.

Jeff Quinn, the author of this article, is a shareholder in Ashley Quinn, CPAs.