Paul L. Caron
Dean
Pepperdine Caruso
School of Law
Gov’t Reports
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GAO Offers Seven Improvements for 2010 Tax Filing Season
The Government Accountability Office criticized the IRS's telephone service to taxpayers during the 2009 tax filing season, "where, for a second year in a row, unanticipated increases in call volume significantly reduced performance, in part, because of inquires related to tax law changes." The report makes seven recommendations for improvements for the 2010 tax filing…
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Joint Tax Committee Releases Estimates of Federal Tax Expenditures for 2009-2013
The Joint Committee on Taxation yesterday released Estimates of Federal Tax Expenditures for Fiscal Years 2009-2013 (JCS-1-10) (55 pages): Part I of this report contains a discussion of the concept of tax expenditures. Part II is a discussion of the measurement of tax expenditures. Estimates of tax expenditures for fiscal years 2009-2013 are presented in Table…
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IRS Has 70% Error Rate in Issuance of Taxpayer ID Numbers, Resulting in Fraudulent Tax Refunds
The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration yesterday released Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers Are Being Issued Without Sufficient Supporting Documentation (2010-40-005): The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) today publicly released its review of the IRS's processing of applications for Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITINs). TIGTA reviewed a sample of ITIN applications and found that…
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IRS Cannot Verify Taxpayer Eligibility for 2/3 of $325 Billion of Stimulus Tax Benefits
The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration today released Evaluation of the Internal Revenue Service’s Capability to Ensure Proper Use of Recovery Act Funds (2010-41-011): The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration today publicly released its review of the IRS’s ability to verify taxpayer eligibility for tax benefits and credits provided by the American Recovery and…
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Senate Finance Committee & GAO on R&D Tax Credit
GAO, The Research Tax Credit’s Design and Administration Can Be Improved (GAO-10-136) Senate Finance Committee press release, Baucus, Grassley, Hatch Revisit Research and Development Tax Credit Senate Finance Committee press release, Finance Senators Propose Improvements to Research and Development Tax Credit Senate Bill, The ‘‘Grow Research Opportunities With Taxcredits’ Help Act’’ (‘‘GROWTH Act’) Reuters, R&D Tax…
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Total Tax Ratio as Percentage of GDP, 2008
OECD, Revenue Statistics 1965-2008 (2009 ed.): The overall tax-to-GDP ratio in OECD countries was 35.8% in 2007, the latest year for which complete figures are available. … Out of 26 OECD countries that have provided provisional figures for 2008, tax-to-GDP ratios fell in 17 and rose in 9. … Denmark has the highest tax-to-GDP ratio among OECD…
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TIGTA: 43% of Taxpayers Risk Identity Theft When IRS Makes Copies of Their Tax Returns
The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration today released Taxpayer Information Is at Risk When Copies of Tax Returns and Transcripts Are Ordered (2009-40-140): TIGTA today publicly released its audit report of the IRS's processing of taxpayer requests for copies of tax returns and transcripts. TIGTA's audit concluded that the IRS needs to strengthen its controls over…
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GAO: IRS Needs to Better Manage Tax Debt Collection Process
The Government Accountability Office on Friday released Tax Debt Collection: IRS Needs to Better Manage the Collection Notices Sent to Individuals (GAO-09-976): According to the IRS, $23 billion in unpaid individual income tax debt existed in 2001, its most recent estimate. The notice phase is the first of IRS’s three-phase process to collect unpaid debt.…
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CBO & JCT Release Subsidizing Infrastructure Investment with Tax-Preferred Bonds
The Congressional Budget Office and Joint Committee on Taxation yesterday released a joint report, Subsidizing Infrastructure Investment with Tax-Preferred Bonds: Subsidizing Infrastructure Investment with Tax-Preferred Bonds is a joint CBO/staff of the JCT study, which examines the types of tax preferences for state and local bonds, reports the amount of such debt that has been…
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GAO Issues Foreign-Source Income Report
The Government Accountability Office on Friday released Study Countries That Exempt Foreign-Source Income Face Compliance Risks and Burdens Similar to Those in the United States (GAO-09-934): A debate is underway about how the United States should tax foreign-source, corporate income. Currently, the United States allows domestic corporations to defer tax on the earnings of their foreign…
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GAO Makes Recommendations to Improve IRS Performance in 2010 Tax Filing Season
The Government Accountability Office on Friday released Opportunities Exist for IRS to Enhance Taxpayer Service and Enforcement for the 2010 Filing Season (GAO-09-1026): We recommend that the Commissioner of Internal Revenue take the following five actions. Develop and document a strategy to prevent and resolve errors causing electronically filed returns to be rejected. Involve stakeholders from…
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GAO: IRS Should Improve Sole Proprietor Loss Deduction Compliance
The Government Accountability Office yesterday released Tax Gap: Limiting Sole Proprietor Loss Deductions Could Improve Compliance but Would Also Limit Some Legitimate Losses (GAO-09-81): About 5.4 million or 25% of all sole proprietors reported losses in 2006. 95% percent of these loss filers deducted some or all of their losses against other income, deducting a…
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Treasury Department to Examine ACORN’s Compliance With Tax Laws
The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration has agreed to examine ACORN's compliance with §§ 501(c)(3) and 527(f): You requested that the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) review the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Criminal Investigations Division's enforcement efforts with respect to taxable nonprofit corporations engaging in political activities that go unreported. In addition, you…
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Joint Tax Committee Releases Description of International Tax Aspects of Obama’s FY 2010 Budget
The Joint Committee on Taxation today released Description of Revenue Provisions Contained in the President’s Fiscal Year 2010 Budget Proposal — Part Three: Provisions Related to the Taxation of Cross-Border Income and Investment (JCS-4-09). Prior releases: Part One: Individual and Estate and Gift Tax Part Two: Business Tax
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GAO: Employee v. Independent Contractors
The Government Accountability Office yesterday released Employee Misclassification: Improved Coordination, Outreach, and Targeting Could Better Ensure Detection and Prevention: When employers improperly classify workers as independent contractors instead of employees, those workers do not receive protections and benefits to which they are entitled, and the employers may fail to pay some taxes they would otherwise…
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Treasury Department Releases Analysis of Section 529 College Savings Plans
The Treasury Department and the White House Task Force on Middle Class Working Families today released An Analysis of Section 529 College Savings and Prepaid Tuition Plans: The report recommends five approaches to making Section 529 savings plans more attractive, effective and reliable for middle class families, and those who aspire to join the middle…
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TIGTA Releases Three Tax Reports
The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration has released: Changing Strategies Led to the Termination of the My IRS Account Project (2009-20-102) The Office of Disclosure Continues to Improve Upon Its Responses to Taxpayers’ Requests Under the Freedom of Information Act (2009-30-115) To Address Its Human Capital Challenge, the Internal Revenue Service Needs to Focus…
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OECD Releases Report on Global Tax Transparency
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development yesterday released its fourth annual assessment of tax transparency and information exchange in 87 countries, Tax Co-operation 2009: Towards a Level Playing Field, by the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information: The Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information conducts an annual review of transparency and exchange of…
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Government Reports on Mortgage Interest Deduction
Government Accountability Office, Home Mortgage Interest Deduction: Despite Challenges Presented by Complex Tax Rules, IRS Could Enhance Enforcement and Guidance Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, Mortgage Interest Data Could Be Used to Pursue More Nonfilers and Underreporters Update: Reuters, Mortgage Data Could Help Catch Tax Cheats Wall Street Journal, IRS to Mine Payment Data…
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TIGTA: IRS Needs to Better Evaluate Tax Research Programs
The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration has released An Improved Project Management Process Is Needed to Measure the Impact of Research Efforts on Tax Administration: The IRS does not have a systemic process to measure research outcomes against intended results. Currently, the IRS primarily assesses the impact of its research by measuring customer satisfaction.…
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Tax Tables in Statistical Abstract
Ann Murphy (Gonzaga) shared on the TaxProf Discussion Group some cool tax tables in the 2009 Statistical Abstract of the United States, including:
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CBO Releases 66 Tax Options
The Congressional Budget Office yesterday released Budget Options, Second Volume. The document discusses 66 tax options: Increase Individual Income Tax Rates Permanently Extend the Individual Income Tax Provisions of EGTRRA Permanently Extend the Zero and 15% Tax Rates for Capital Gains and Dividends Replace Multiple Tax Rates on Long-Term Capital Gains with a Deduction of 45%…
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IRS Lacks Data to Effectively Monitor Paid Preparers
The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration has released Inadequate Data on Paid Preparers Impedes Effective Oversight (2009-40-098): One of the IRS’ key objectives in its 2009–2013 Strategic Plan is to ensure that preparers adhere to professional standards and follow the law. Currently, the IRS does not have a sufficient management information system to effectively…
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GAO: Use State Licensing Requirements to Reduce Federal Tax Gap
GAO, Opportunities Exist to Improve Tax Compliance of Applicants for State Business Licenses Senate Finance Committee, Baucus, Grassley Call for Federal‐State Cooperation in Imrpoving Tax Compliance; GAO Report Suggests Opportunities Exist to Enforce Federal Tax Compliance Through Business Licensing Forbes, Should Tax Cheats Be Denied Business Licenses? Web CPA, State Licenses May Hinge on Federal…