Abstract
As discussed in Chap. 2, the tax gap remains a significant concern to policymakers who would prefer the gap be close both because of fairness to the vast majority of taxpayers who voluntarily pay their taxes in full and as a means to deter further tax cheating and raise tax revenues. The primary purpose of this chapter is to discuss the two principal forms of IRS enforcement: Auditing and Criminal Enforcement. A central purpose of the empirical studies reported in later chapters is to develop an understanding of the linkage between enforcement and levels of taxpayers’ noncompliance. We begin with a discussion of the role of IRS audits.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
“IRS Audit Rates: Rate for Individual Taxpayers Has Declined But Effect on Compliance Is Unknown.” United States General Accounting Office, GAO.
- 2.
GAO Report to Chairman, Subcommittee on Oversight, Committee on Ways and Means, House of Representatives, April 2001, “IRS Audit Rates: Rate for Individual Taxpayers Has Declined But Effect on Compliance is Unknown”.
- 3.
GAO Report, Testimony of Michael Brostek, Director Strategic Issues, Before the Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, and International Security, Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, U.S. Senate, October 2005, “Tax Gap: Multiple Strategies, Better Compliance Data, and Long-Term Goals Are Needed to Improve Taxpayer Compliance”.
- 4.
The Graphs are based on historical data provided by CI.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2012 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Dubin, J.A. (2012). Recent Patterns in IRS Enforcement. In: The Causes and Consequences of Income Tax Noncompliance. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-0907-7_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-0907-7_3
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4419-0906-0
Online ISBN: 978-1-4419-0907-7
eBook Packages: Business and EconomicsEconomics and Finance (R0)