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Humphreys County, Mississipp is one of the poorest and the most audited county in the US - https://www.marketplace.org/2019/04/15/study-where-irs-audits-more-an
by kkotak 7y ago
Humphreys County, Mississipp is one of the poorest and the most audited county in the US - https://www.marketplace.org/2019/04/15/study-where-irs-audits-more-and-less/ https://www.marketplace.org/2019/04/15/study-where-irs-audit...
- wonderwonder 7y agoAlso ~75% black, but I'm sure that does not factor into the IRS' decisions...
- jandrese 7y agoIt seems to be mostly targeting the poor, in particular the Earned Income Tax Credit, because Republicans hate it and constantly pressure the IRS to target people who use it.
- Koremat6666 7y agoIf this true ? Can politicians target taxpayers based on what perfectly legal activities they do ? For example can Trump ask IRS to target say H1B employees ?
- MiroF 7y agoThe IRS publicly says that it audits poorer taxpayers at a higher rate because they require less manpower to audit. https://www.propublica.org/article/irs-sorry-but-its-just-easier-and-cheaper-to-audit-the-poor https://www.propublica.org/article/irs-sorry-but-its-just-ea...
- jandrese 7y agoSure it's easier, but it seems like the return on investment must be lousy. Is it really easier to audit 1 million people who end up owing an average of $100, or 10 people who end up owing $20 million?
- Kalium 7y agoI would bet that it's much easier to predict costs in both time and money for auditing a poorer person than a wealthier one.
- ta999999171 7y agoIs this the "run the government like a business" I keep hearing so much good stuff about?
- kube-system 7y agoYou can just as easily file this one under "every organization has finite resources to allocate".
- londons_explore 7y agoDepends on the fee structure. If those poor people end up owing $100, but the IRS can slap $500 of wrongful filing fees on them, and then come up with a 15 year payment plan at 30% interest, they get $25k. Rich people would just pay the fine and move on, or claim bankruptcy and become rich again in a few years.
- samplatt 7y agoCan a private (or corporate) entity take the IRS to court? As a non-American, I always assumed a big reason of why the rich aren't taxed/audited as much was because tying the funds up in infinite legality was cheaper than actually paying taxes.
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- dmoy 7y agoThe IRS cannot charge a 30% interest rate. They charge short term plus 300bps. There's some other fees, but they cap out too.
- tootahe45 7y agoalso more likely to be breaking the law
- kube-system 7y agoAs long as they're all legitimate audits, that seems like a reasonable way to prioritize work. I too tackle the lower-hanging fruit first when I begin a task. If this is the methodology that generates the most revenue, then it is generating the most potential benefit to those who rely on government services -- largely, those drawing SS/Medicare/Medicaid/SNAP/EITC.
- masonic 7y agoThis report is based upon data from during the Obama administration only. "Audit rates were calculated per 1,000 income tax filings, over the four tax years from 2012 to 2015."
- mcny 7y ago> For example can Trump ask IRS to target say H1B employees ? I anal but my guess is no, at least not as an order, and at least not in a way that is consistent with our laws. > In 2013, the United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS) revealed that it had selected political groups applying for tax-exempt status for intensive scrutiny based on their names or political themes. This led to wide condemnation of the agency and triggered several investigations, including a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) criminal probe ordered by United States Attorney General Eric Holder. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IRS_targeting_controversy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IRS_targeting_controversy However, sitting senators and representatives can write letters to the IRS or any federal agency and my understanding is the people at the federal agency actually read those letters. Here's just an example I found on Google search > Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and House Ways and Means Ranking Member Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass., today questioned whether the Trump administration is wrongfully pressuring the IRS to produce 2018 withholding tables that would result in systematic underwithholding of federal taxes from taxpayer earnings. In a letter to Acting IRS Commissioner and Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy David Kautter, Wyden and Neal asked about interactions between Trump officials and the IRS regarding the development of the tables, which are expected to be released in the near future. If an undue amount of taxes are underwithheld by employers now, millions of hardworking Americans will owe taxes next April instead of receiving a tax refund. https://www.finance.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/010818%20IRS%20Witholding%20Letter.pdf https://www.finance.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/010818%20IRS%20... https://www.finance.senate.gov/ranking-members-news/wyden-neal-question-political-manipulation-at-irs-seek-to-prevent-hardworking-americans-from-getting-hit-with-massive-tax-bill https://www.finance.senate.gov/ranking-members-news/wyden-ne...
- hanniabu 7y agoI don't see why not, it appears nobody is held accountable anymore
- TomatoTomato 7y agoNot directly, but certain IRS ranking officials have targeted specific groups in the past for both administrations. However, there is also rampant fraud with the EITC. Similarly with the Child Tax Credit, it is likely because it is refundable, meaning that you receive a check after your taxes are paid rather than a deduction which can only bring your liability down to zero. Also auditing these are fairly trivial and usually only done through the mail so they can send them out en masse based on red flags. > "The IRS estimates that 22 to 26 percent of EITC payments were issued improperly in Fiscal Year 2013. The dollar value of these improper payments was estimated to be between $13.3 billion and $15.6 billion." https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/report-massive-fraud-still-rampant-in-earned-income-tax-credit-program https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/report-massive-fraud-stil... https://www.eitc.irs.gov/tax-preparer-toolkit/frequently-asked-questions/fraud/fraud https://www.eitc.irs.gov/tax-preparer-toolkit/frequently-ask...
- TomatoTomato 7y ago> Republicans hate it It was created under the Nixon administration. The biggest expansion came under Reagan and he called the EITC the “the best anti-poverty bill, the best pro-family measure, and the best job-creation program ever to come out of the Congress.” George W. Bush administration also increased the benefits.
- wonderwonder 7y agoI don't think anyone would be that far out of order arguing that the Republican party of today and its principals are very different than those of a decade ago. Your mileage may vary on a case by case basis.
- wnevets 7y agoThe EPA was also created under Nixon, good luck arguing that today's republicans don't hate it https://www.businessinsider.com/how-trump-administration-has-gutted-environmental-protections-2019-5 https://www.businessinsider.com/how-trump-administration-has...
- microcolonel 7y agoHow does changing the purview of the EPA say they "hate" it? Seems like few argue that it has no utility, and many of the complaints are legitimate, particularly complaints about ludicrous misapplication of WOTUS to small agricultural ditches and artificial pools.
- masonic 7y ago"Audit rates were calculated per 1,000 income tax filings, over the four tax years from 2012 to 2015."
- masonic 7y agoYou realize that this entire dataset is from the Obama administration, right? "Audit rates were calculated per 1,000 income tax filings, over the four tax years from 2012 to 2015."
- trophycase 7y agoI mean isn't it possible that it is very poor due to rampant corruption?