Information Related to the Scope and Complexity of the Federal Tax System
GAO-01-301R: Published: Apr 6, 2001. Publicly Released: Apr 6, 2001.
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The National Commission on Restructuring the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recommended in 1997 that IRS simplify the tax law. The Commission reported a connection between the complexity of the Internal Revenue Code and the difficulty of administering it and taxpayer frustration with the tax system. It reported that such complexity can lead to inadvertent noncompliance, increase costs to taxpayers, and complicate tax collection. The IRS Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998 requires the Joint Committee on Taxation to report to Congress on the overall state of the federal tax system and on proposals to simplify it. This report provides information to help the Joint Committee with its study. Specifically, GAO provides information on (1) the scope and size of the code, the number of Congressionally-mandated studies of the tax system, and the amount of tax guidance and regulations issued by IRS; (2) the number and scope of IRS forms, schedules, publications, and worksheets; (3) the number of tax returns filed and people claimed on these returns, by various characteristics for selected years; and (4) the number of assistance provided to taxpayers by IRS, return preparers, and computerized software for selected years.
Jan 14, 2021
Tax Administration:
Better Coordination Could Improve IRS's Use of Third-Party Information Reporting to Help Reduce the Tax GapGAO-21-102: Published: Dec 15, 2020. Publicly Released: Jan 14, 2021.
Nov 18, 2020
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IRS Reorganization:
Planning Addressed Key Reform Practices, but Goals and Measures for the Plan Have Not Been FinalizedGAO-21-18: Published: Oct 19, 2020. Publicly Released: Nov 18, 2020.
Nov 9, 2020
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Opportunity Zones:
Improved Oversight Needed to Evaluate Tax Expenditure PerformanceGAO-21-30: Published: Oct 8, 2020. Publicly Released: Nov 9, 2020.
Oct 19, 2020
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Tax Administration:
Opportunities Exist to Improve Oversight of Hospitals' Tax-Exempt StatusGAO-20-679: Published: Sep 17, 2020. Publicly Released: Oct 19, 2020.
Sep 23, 2020
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Taxpayer Service:
IRS Could Improve the Taxpayer Experience by Using Better Service Performance MeasuresGAO-20-656: Published: Sep 23, 2020. Publicly Released: Sep 23, 2020.
Aug 31, 2020
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Abusive Tax Schemes:
Offshore Insurance Products and Associated Compliance RisksGAO-20-589: Published: Jul 30, 2020. Publicly Released: Aug 31, 2020.
Jun 29, 2020
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Taxpayer Compliance:
More Income Reporting Needed for Taxpayers Working through Online PlatformsGAO-20-366: Published: May 28, 2020. Publicly Released: Jun 29, 2020.
Jun 16, 2020
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Tax Exempt Organizations:
IRS Increasingly Uses Data in Examination Selection, but Could Further Improve Selection ProcessesGAO-20-454: Published: Jun 16, 2020. Publicly Released: Jun 16, 2020.
May 1, 2020
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Management Report:
Improvements Are Needed to Enhance the Internal Revenue Service's Internal Control over Financial ReportingGAO-20-480R: Published: May 1, 2020. Publicly Released: May 1, 2020.
Apr 30, 2020
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Priority Open Recommendations:
Internal Revenue ServiceGAO-20-548PR: Published: Apr 23, 2020. Publicly Released: Apr 30, 2020.
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