Tax Administration: IRS' Improved Estimates of Tax Examination Yield Need to Be Refined
GGD-90-119
Published: Sep 05, 1990. Publicly Released: Sep 07, 1990.
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Highlights
Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the Internal Revenue Service's (IRS): (1) methodology for estimating additional audit revenues obtained from hiring additional auditors; and (2) plans to track the results of the pending staffing increase.
Recommendations
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Internal Revenue Service | To further improve its methodology for estimating the revenue to be derived from an increase in examination staff, the Commissioner of Internal Revenue should develop empirical data to show whether the influx of new examination staff allows more experienced agents to work higher-yield cases and in what time frame. |
Closed – Not Implemented
Members from the IRS Examination and Research Division formed a team to address this issue. Gaps were found in the data needed to do the analysis and the project has been suspended. Although IRS staff say that there is still interest in doing the study, it seems clear that it no longer has much priority and that the data problems may be insurmountable.
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Auditing proceduresAuditorsCost effectiveness analysisFederal employeesFederal taxesFuture budget projectionsEmployee trainingStaff utilizationTax administrationTax return audits