About time! IRS Drastically Increases Its Audits Of America's Richest Taxpayers

[Quixote1818]

In 2009, the Internal Revenue Service announced plans to unleash a new enforcement unit called the Global High Wealth Industry, the goal being to better investigate the complex finances of America's wealthiest taxpayers.

They weren't kidding.

Recently released IRS statistics indicate that the federal government increased their audits of America's richest taxpayers -- those with incomes above $10 million -- by 75 percent last year. Nearly one in five -- 18.5 percent -- of America's richest households dealt with an audit. In 2009, the Global High Wealth Industry's first year of operation, the IRS audited only one in ten of America's richest taxpayers.

Complex tax evasion has become an increasing problem in recent years, with popular strategies including conversion of income into capital gains and stashing cash in Swiss banks.

More:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/27/irs-audits-richest-americans_n_840627.html

[treestar]

1. Wow, good

Let's the Administration get no credit for this now!

[theaocp]

3. Maybe the big guy can speak for himself?

Unless he doesn't want to upset his wealthy donors?

[treestar]

18. Um, this is about how the rich are getting audited more

Did you miss that?

[Quixote1818]

2. I have a relative who deals with the wealthy on a daily basis. This relative tells me

that they will often come right out and say how they cheat the Gov. They wear it as a badge of honor. I will say this relative works in Interior Design. Don't want to say anything else.

[aquart]

5. Used to work for a guy who hid money for a pal at Brown Brothers Harriman.

Hid it in Pictet et Cie in Switzerland. That was thirty-something years ago, but no reason to believe our rich boys have changed. They had cute code names when they telexed (that long ago) when things got really illegal, I was sent out for a walk.

BTW, he wouldn't touch a client who had less than $8 million.

[FormerDittoHead]

6. I bet they tell your friend that they're writing off his services as a business expense...

I wouldn't be surprised if they told him to 'doctor' the invoice to say something like "office furniture" or something like that.

[old mark]

13. So their tax cheating is supported by taxpayers...nt

[Quixote1818]

16. That and worse

They tell EVERYTHING and some of it is extremely criminal. A lot of these people made there money in Oil. Old money families.

[hack89]

7. I have plumbers telling me how they cheat the government

I think cheating on taxes is a universal sport.

[theaocp]

4. Aren't the pukes working to take funding away from the IRS

to deal with just this issue? Out of curiosity, how much impact can they have? Anybody know?

[groundloop]

8. How long 'till the teabaggers start protesting this?

Once the Publican noise machine and Faux News start bitching about this they'll have the teabaggers convinced that auditing millionaires is somehow unconstitutional.

[Ian David]

9. GOP looks to cut IRS budget despite returns

GOP looks to cut IRS budget despite returns
http://www.bostonherald.com/news/us_politics/view/20110301gop_looks_to_cut_irs_budget_despite_returns/

[dkf]

10. Forget that, audit GE.

[Mnemosyne]

11. They audited me last year, $15,000 income. n/t

[Rex]

12. ABOUT FUCKING TIME!

I guess they've learned you cannot get money out of the working poor. Or at least not enough money.

[shanti]

14. and this is why

our infrastructure is going to hell in a handbasket :( well, one reason...

[old mark]

15. Funny- I bet this is what they call Socialism...I have been audited once in my life,

a few months after I wrote Newt Gingrich a letter calling him an egotistical sociopathic asshole, among other things...Coincidence, I am sure.

I was going back to college at the time, made maybe $10,000 that year...


mark

[bemildred]

17. Include rich corporations, after all they are "persons" too. nt