Cigarette Smuggling:
Interstate and U.S.-Canadian Experience
T-RCED-98-50: Published: Dec 9, 1997. Publicly Released: Dec 9, 1997.
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GAO discussed: (1) information developed concerning interstate cigarette smuggling in the United States; and (2) Canada's recent experience with international smuggling.
GAO noted that: (1) smuggling cigarettes from low- to high-tax states, or interstate smuggling, prominent in the 1970s, may now be a reemerging problem; (2) such activity is likely to occur when the differences in cigarette taxes across the states are significant enough to make it profitable; (3) recently, many states have opted to sharply increase their cigarette taxes, yet most low tax states have not; (4) as a result, studies suggest that the level of interstate smuggling activity may now be increasing; (5) recent estimates suggest that smuggling is responsible for states collectively losing hundreds of millions of dollars in annual tax revenue; (6) recent experiences demonstrate that international smuggling can occur when cigarette tax rates are substantial; (7) international smuggling has occurred recently between Canada and the United States; (8) according to the Canadian government, sharp increases in Canadian federal and provincial cigarette taxes in the late 1980s and early 1990s led to large-scale smuggling between the United States and Canada conducted almost entirely by organized crime; (9) violence increased, merchants suffered, and in one year alone, Canada and its provinces lost over $2 billion (in Canadian dollars) in tax revenues; (10) Canada responded in 1994 by sharply reducing federal and provincial cigarette taxes and increasing its enforcement efforts, among other steps; and (11) since then, smuggling has declined considerably.
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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