The Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) of Syracuse University has issued a report, Easier Times for Biggest Corporations:

The thoroughness of IRS enforcement efforts for the nation’s largest corporations — measured by the number of hours devoted to each audit — has substantially declined since FY 2002, according to data recently obtained from the agency by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC). IRS data also show that the annual audit rate for these corporations, all with assets of $250 million or more, while increasing in FY 2004 and 2005 has now receded to about the level it was in 2002 and is much lower than levels that prevailed a decade or more ago….

Update:  For more, see:

• Linda Beale, A Taxing Matter
• David Cay Johnston, New York Times
• Jesse Drucker, Wall Street Journal