Expediting Tax Deposits Can Increase the Government's Interest Earnings
GGD-84-14
Published: Nov 21, 1983. Publicly Released: Nov 21, 1983.
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Highlights
GAO reviewed Department of the Treasury and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) cash management procedures to determine whether tax receipts could be deposited more quickly, expediting availability of funds to the Treasury.
Recommendations
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Internal Revenue Service | The Commissioner of Internal Revenue should require taxpayers to send all payments accompanied by FTD cards, including those payments with corrected cards, directly to financial depositaries. |
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
|
| Internal Revenue Service | The Commissioner of Internal Revenue, in conjunction with the Commissioner of the Bureau of Government Financial Operations, should reduce the deposit time for field office tax receipts. Allowing field offices to deposit receipts in local banks or mailing tax receipts to designated bank lockboxes are two alternatives which could be considered in implementing this recommendation. |
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
|
| Bureau of Government Financial Operations | The Commissioner of Internal Revenue, in conjunction with the Commissioner of the Bureau of Government Financial Operations, should reduce the deposit time for field office tax receipts. Allowing field offices to deposit receipts in local banks or mailing tax receipts to designated bank lockboxes are two alternatives which could be considered in implementing this recommendation. |
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
|
| Internal Revenue Service | The Commissioner of Internal Revenue should require that evaluations of whether to install check-sorting equipment at IRS service centers also consider: (1) the potential interest earnings associated with extending the service centers' deposit times; (2) the costs and benefits derived from increased use of Federal Reserve banks as depositaries; and (3) the cost offsets to be gained through decreased check-processing costs for Federal Reserve depositaries. |
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
|
| Internal Revenue Service | The Commissioner of Internal Revenue should develop a system that will enable IRS to make more informed decisions on whether to impose penalties on individuals who are not sending FTD payments to authorized depositaries. |
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
|
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Topics
Cash managementCheck disbursement or controlDeposit fundsGovernment collectionsTax administrationTaxpayersFederal reserve banksTaxesAdvance paymentsFederal agencies