Post by mesquite on Jan 9, 2015 17:55:31 GMT -5
Commissioner John A. Koskinen says the revenue- collecting agency's budget has been cut five years in a row, even as its duties expanded (i.e., Obamacare, Foreign Tax Account Compliance, etc). It has 13,000 fewer employees than it did five years ago. (I wonder if the President, Senators and Representatives reduced their staffs by 14% during the same period.)
"For the upcoming filing season, we estimate that only about 50 percent of taxpayers who call can reach us over the phone. Some 24 million Americans may not be able to reach us for help. Those who do get through could easily wait 30 minutes or more for limited service.
The IRS more than doubled the number of identity theft and fraud prevention workers to 3,000 in 2012.
The budget reduction of $346 million from Congress will reduce enforcement collections by at least $2 billion.
The Internal Revenue Service began in 1862, when President Abraham Lincoln and Congress established a commissioner of Internal Revenue and created an income tax to help pay for expenses incurred by the Civil War. The tax was repealed 10 years later.
In 1960 IRS Collected $91.8 billion in taxes. In 2012, the IRS collected a whopping $2.524 trillion in revenue. But does anyone say ‘great job’?
Many of the 95,000 employees working for the IRS are seasonal and do not work year round. Despite numerous myths, the IRS's total number of employees is dwarfed by the Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security.
Taxpayers spend 3.8 billion hours annually complying with federal income tax laws. Since only 47% of taxpayers actually pay income tax, many are complying to get refundable credits.
www.fool.com/investing/general/2014/02/08/10-incredible-facts-you-probably-didnt-know-about.aspx
"For the upcoming filing season, we estimate that only about 50 percent of taxpayers who call can reach us over the phone. Some 24 million Americans may not be able to reach us for help. Those who do get through could easily wait 30 minutes or more for limited service.
The IRS more than doubled the number of identity theft and fraud prevention workers to 3,000 in 2012.
The budget reduction of $346 million from Congress will reduce enforcement collections by at least $2 billion.
The Internal Revenue Service began in 1862, when President Abraham Lincoln and Congress established a commissioner of Internal Revenue and created an income tax to help pay for expenses incurred by the Civil War. The tax was repealed 10 years later.
In 1960 IRS Collected $91.8 billion in taxes. In 2012, the IRS collected a whopping $2.524 trillion in revenue. But does anyone say ‘great job’?
Many of the 95,000 employees working for the IRS are seasonal and do not work year round. Despite numerous myths, the IRS's total number of employees is dwarfed by the Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security.
Taxpayers spend 3.8 billion hours annually complying with federal income tax laws. Since only 47% of taxpayers actually pay income tax, many are complying to get refundable credits.
www.fool.com/investing/general/2014/02/08/10-incredible-facts-you-probably-didnt-know-about.aspx