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Pension Plans: IRS Programs for Resolving Deviations From Tax-Exemption Requirements

GGD-00-169 Published: Aug 14, 2000. Publicly Released: Sep 14, 2000.
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Highlights

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) programs for resolving pension-plan deviations from tax-exemption requirements, focusing on: (1) the frequency and types of pension plan qualification failures that were detected and corrected through IRS audits; (2) the frequency and types of pension plan qualification failures that were identified by pension plan sponsors and reported to IRS for approval of the correction; (3) the sanctions established under IRS' audit program with the compliance fees that could have been imposed if the same qualification failures had been self-reported by the pension plans to IRS; and (4) whether any cost-effective means, other than pension plan audits, have been identified that would detect unreported qualification failures.

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Cost effectiveness analysisPensionsReporting requirementsSanctionsTax exempt statusTax lawTax return auditsVoluntary compliancePension planPension plans