Tax audits are one of our most frequent themes in this blog. Most recently, in a two-part post on October 29 and November 4, we discussed how errors by the IRS in scanning and cataloging documents from taxpayers have affected the correspondence audit process. In this post, let’s look at […]
Category: Audits
In the first part of this post, we noted that problems with accurately scanning documents have been hindering the ability of the IRS to conduct correspondence audits effectively. This is a concern because many potential tax issues are resolved through the paper-driven correspondence process, rather than through a full-scale, in-person […]
In the hit TV series “Mad Men,” set in the early 1960s, it is a very big deal when the advertising office — in state-of-the-art New York City — gets its first copy machine. The bulky machine operates as both a cultural curiosity and a not-so-subtle sign that things are […]
The partial shutdown of the federal government is now in its second day. The shutdown is “partial” in that some services remain operative while others do not. In Texas and across the nation, people are therefore asking themselves what is open and what is not. National parks are easily the […]
We live in a high-performance culture. Year after year, in school and in the workplace, we are taught to build on our strengths, minimize weaknesses and strive for success. This mindset usually means moving quickly to correct the human errors that inevitably occur. When it comes to filing taxes, however, […]
In practice, one tax audit does not necessarily lead to another. Just because the IRS has conducted an audit on one year’s return doesn’t mean it will go back and audit your return from the year before or after that. A new report by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax […]
Regulators say that auditors of broker-dealers are lacking in their performance when it comes to compliance with independence requirements and other accounting rules, citing “disappointing” results for the second year in a row. The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, which oversees audits of public companies, found deficiencies in a review of audit […]
The balance between state law and federal law is always a delicate one in America. In terms of political theory, it’s a fascinating interaction. After all, how can two sovereigns share the same space at the same time? In practical terms, the issues involved in implementing this balance are interesting […]
This is a follow up to our April 3 post on how tax audit chances increase with income. We noted there that while the overall IRS audit rate is only about one percent, it rises rapidly the higher a taxpayer’s income gets. But how does the IRS which upper-income returns […]
The IRS looks for revenue wherever it can find it. In recent years, for example, the agency has becoming especially aggressive at going after what it perceives to be unreported income from offshore accounts. Another example is worker classification audits. The IRS has done many of these in Texas, looking […]