YES, shrinking budget reduces your chance of getting grilled by the IRS.
• The main reason for the decline: IRS budget and staff levels are down.
• Tax collectors are blaming the massive drop off on budget cuts.
• IRS staff shrunk by 20,000 over the past 8 years, despite increase in numbers of returns filed.
• This is an unsustainable situation for the agency that brings in 90 percent of the nation’s revenue.
• This will worsen with additional cuts proposed in the Administration’s 2019 budget.
• Financial crime flourish in the age of internet, international financial crimes, and virtual currency.
• IRS number of personnel is unable to keep up.
• IRS is too swamped to audit you.
Here are more interesting developments:
• The IRS is living on $1 billion less than 10 years ago, down from $12 billion to $11 billion.
• The number of agents declined by one-third from 23,000 in 2010 to 15,000 today.
• We have the same number of special agents — around 2,200 — as we did 50 years ago.
• The agency has been trimmed back, even as the numbers of filers have grown.
• Americans filed 150 million individual returns in the last fiscal year, the most ever.
• Even as the number of returns grew, the number of audits dropped 40 percent from 2010 to 2017.
So, How Does Shrinking Budget Affect You?
• Well, it’s less likely that IRS will come after you.
• Your odds of not getting audited gets lower every year.
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Victor Santos Sy graduated Cum Laude from UE with a BBA and from Indiana State University with an MBA. Vic worked with SyCip, Gorres, Velayo (SGV – Andersen Consulting) and Ernst & Young before establishing Sy Accountancy Corporation in Pasadena, California.
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He has 50 years of experience in defending taxpayers audited by the IRS, FTB, EDD, BOE and other governmental agencies. He is publishing a book on his expertise – “HOW TO AVOID OR SURVIVE IRS AUDITS.” Our readers may inquire about the book or email tax questions at [email protected].