Tax Administration:
Tax Compliance Initiatives and Delinquent Taxes
T-GGD-95-74: Published: Feb 1, 1995. Publicly Released: Feb 1, 1995.
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GAO discussed the Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) compliance initiatives and progress in collecting tax debts. GAO noted that: (1) IRS estimated that taxpayers failed to pay $127 billion in income taxes in 1992, but the tax-gap estimate did not include other delinquent taxes; (2) IRS audited less than 1 percent of fiscal year (FY) 1993 income tax returns and pursued less than 37 percent of the identified cases of underreported income; (3) more than one half of the 1994 delinquent accounts were backlogged at the end of the year; (4) IRS compliance initiatives could be improved by more efficient use of IRS resources, simpler tax laws, improved administrative processes, and more enforcement resources; (5) despite measures to increase IRS enforcement staff, staffing levels have declined since 1989; (6) the FY 1995 appropriation act prevents IRS from diverting enforcement funds to other purposes; (7) IRS has developed a new method for tracking the results of the 1995 compliance initiative, but its data may not be accurate; and (8) IRS has implemented new measures to improve its collection of delinquent taxes, but it needs to improve the accuracy of its accounts receivable inventory and its inefficient collection process.
Mar 1, 2021
Tax Filing:
Actions Needed to Address Processing Delays and Risks to the 2021 Filing SeasonGAO-21-251: Published: Mar 1, 2021. Publicly Released: Mar 1, 2021.
Jan 14, 2021
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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.
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