Tag Archives: IRS

(SNL) IRS Scandal (Weekend) Update

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We have stood by while the IRS has taken shots from both the right and the left in recent days. The 501(c)(4) targeting situation will certainly yield changes for the IRS – how broad and how meaningful are yet to be seen. We may have more to say when we see what really comes of it all.

In the meantime, folks are lining up to take a bit of stuffing out of the IRS. This one is too good to let pass. Amy Poehler is a family favorite and we recommended her Thursday night gig if you haven’t checked it out before. Here she is with Seth Myers in a return to Weekend Update.

Can the IRS Read Your Email?

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IRS_logoThe IRS thinks that they can.

The IRS maintains that its agents can read taxpayers’ emails, texts, and other private electronic communications without a warrant according to a story by Brendan Sasso in The Hill. According to the story, the IRS has maintained that taxpayers “do not have a reasonable expectation of privacy in such communications.”

The report is based on documents acquired in a Freedom of Information Act request filed by the American Civil Liberties Union.

Read the story here:
IRS: We can read emails without warrant

Hat tip: Beau Howard

IRS Audit Rates Continue to Increase for High Income Earners

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Last week the IRS announced performance statistics for fiscal year 2011, which ran from October 1, 2010 through September 30, 2011.  The IRS collected $55.2 million from enforcement actions during that period.  IRS enforcement actions include audits, assessments, collection actions, appeals, and litigation.

The IRS also reported that the number of million dollar earners subject to audit increased for the third straight year.  Among those making more than $1 million, 1 in 8 faced an IRS audit during fiscal year 2011.  “We are looking more at taxpayers at these income levels because we find more issues there,” said IRS Deputy Commissioner Steve Miller.

The same might be said for the IRS’s approach to large corporations.  Corporations with assets in excess of $250 million also saw an increase in audit activity.  The audit rate for those business climbed to 27.6%.  Closely held corporations, specifically those electing under subchapter S of the Internal Revenue Code, also saw an increase in audit activity of 13% over 2010.

The impact of an IRS audit remains severe.  More than 80% of of those audited by the Internal Revenue Service paid additional taxes according to the most recent information available.