IRS Partnership with States Yields Big Results
Last September, the IRS began cooperating with the states in order to
identify taxpayers participating in tax-avoidance schemes. The results
have been impressive, the IRS commissioner announced. In all, 28,000 leads
have been generated.
By Stanley H. Block
In its continued battle to
shut down tax-avoidance schemes, the Internal Revenue Service has enlisted
a few new partners: 48 states and the city of New York and the District of
Columbia.
Together, they launched the
Abusive Tax Avoidance Transaction (ATAT) partnership last September in
order to identify taxpayers who participated in tax shelters as a way to
avoid pay income taxes.
The results so far have
exceeded expectations, according to IRS brass.
“We are pleased with the
initial progress on this partnership,” said IRS Commissioner Mark W.
Everson. “We’ve already shared 28,000 leads with the states. We’re going
to build on this effort to pursue cheaters and expand the program to
attack money laundering.”
Since becoming IRS
commissioner, Everson has worked diligently to stop the use of offshore
trusts and other tax-avoidance schemes that result in the loss of tens of
millions of dollars in tax revenue each year.
This partnership with the
states is simply the newest in a number of ambitious relationships the IRS
has established, which have included partnerships with credit-card
companies to identify offshore trusts.
The partnership with the
states will allow increased sharing of information and greater
enforcement, according to the IRS.
“When we began this
partnership last year, both the IRS and state tax administrators
recognized that coordinating our casework and working in tandem could
improve compliance and assure the public that everyone is paying their
fair share,” Everson said in a statement. “These new initiatives are the
natural extension of this cooperative effort. The public expects us to
continue focusing on ways to improve both compliance and service.”
What’s more, this program is
the first of several intended to increase enforcement. Among the programs
to be launched this year are:
-
State Income Tax Reverse
Filing Match — The IRS will compare your federal return to state
returns, looking for discrepancies.
-
Fed/State Offshore
Payment Card Matching Initiative — Made payments from an offshore
bank account? The IRS will find out.
The message should be clear:
The age of tax cheats in the United States is over. During the past year,
the IRS has increased enforcement in a very public way. And for good
reason.
The tax-collecting agency
wants to ensure that Americans realize how aggressive enforcement is
becoming. If you’re cheating, you could be the next target.
Stanley H. Block is a Maryland State Tax
Attorney and a member of the American Society of IRS Problem Solvers. You
can contact him at 410-727-6006 to obtain a free subscription to his newsletter
titled The IRS Times & Inquirer.
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