Note to readers: sorry for the long absence again--personal circumstances prevented my blogging for the last several weeks. I hope that I can again resume regular blogging now, but do apologize for the absence.
The IRS recently released its 2010 Data Book, which describes the agency's activities for the 2010 FY ending September 30, 2010.
One important part of the data revealed is a much-needed focus on the compliance of wealthy taxpayers. IRS Commission Doug Shulman admitted in late 2009 that the agency needed to shift its focus to pay more attention to high-net-worth individuals--at least in part to reassure ordinary Americans that the rich weren't able to avoid compliance (i.e., the idea that they might be able to avoid paying taxes simply because they had lots of money and could seek out tax shelters unavailable to the rest of us). The IRS created a group within the agency focused on "global high wealth" individuals--those with $10 million or more. Plans for the group required increased audits as a way to call attention to the problems and for the agency to teach itself more about the ways that these high-wealth individuals maintain their wealth and receive their income. The Data Book shows that the IRS audited 18.4% of those high-income taxpayers in FY 2010, up considerably from the rate of 10.6% the prior fiscal year.
The release describing the databooks highlights the following information--including the fact that tax revenues are down compared to prior years.
During fiscal year 2010, the IRS collected $2.3 trillion in revenue, and processed 230 million returns. More than 116 million returns, including almost 70 percent of individual income tax returns, were filed electronically. More than 119 million individual income tax return filers received a tax refund, totaling $358 billion. In fiscal year 2010, IRS spent an average of 53 cents to collect each $100 of tax revenue.
The IRS examined more than 1.5 million individual income tax returns and nearly 30,000 returns filed by corporations, excluding S corporations. The IRS provided taxpayer assistance through 305 million visits to IRS.gov and assisted more than 78 million taxpayers through its telephone helpline or at walk-in sites.
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