Paul L. Caron
Dean
Pepperdine Caruso
School of Law
Gov’t Reports
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GAO: Effect of Economic Stimulus Program on IRS’s Telephone Service and Costs
The Government Accountability Office yesterday released Tax Administration: Data on the Effects of the Economic Stimulus Program on the Internal Revenue Service’s Telephone Service and Costs (GAO-08-916T). Here is the Summary: The purpose of this testimony is to provide information on the effects of the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008 on the IRS’s telephone service…
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TIGTA Issues Semiannual Report to Congress
The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration has released its Semiannual Report to Congress covering the six-month period of October 1, 2007, to March 31, 2008. The report contains TIGTA’s annual assessment of the top management challenges confronting the IRS, which was issued in October. Significant reports issued by TIGTA during the period included: The…
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GAO Audit Makes 24 Recommendations for Improving IRS’s Internal Controls
The Government Accountability Office yesterday released Improvements Needed in IRS’s Internal Controls (GAO-08-368R). From the one-page summary: This report contains 24 recommendations that we are proposing IRS implement to improve its internal controls. We will issue a separate report on the implementation status of recommendations from our prior IRS financial audits and related financial management…
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Joint Tax Committee Releases Report on IRS Disclosures of Tax Return Information, 2007
The Joint Committee on Taxation yesterday released Disclosure Report for Public Inspection Pursuant to Internal Revenue Code Section 6103(p)(3)(C) for Calendar Year 2007 (JCX-47-08). Here is the Introduction: Section 6103(p)(3)(C) of the Internal Revenue Code provides that the Secretary of the Treasury shall, within 90 days after the close of each calendar year, furnish to…
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Happy Birthday, Bush Tax Cuts
The Treasury Department yesterday released two reports to mark the five-year anniversary of the 2003 Bush tax cuts: Topics Related to the President’s Tax Relief: Recent Trends in Federal Tax Receipts as a Percentage of GDP Who Pays Most Individual Income Taxes? Income Mobility How Has the President’s Tax Relief Reduced the Marriage Penalty? Effect…
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GAO Releases VAT Report
The Government Accountability Office yesterday released Value-Added Taxes: Lessons Learned from Other Countries on Compliance Risks, Administrative Costs, Compliance Burden, and Transition (GAO-08-566). From the one-page highlights: This report describes (1) how VAT design choices, such as exemptions and enforcement mechanisms, have affected compliance, administrative costs, and compliance burden; (2) how countries with federal systems…
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TIGTA Releases Tax Reports
The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration has released a number of tax reports: Additional Actions Are Needed to Effectively Address the Tax Gap (2008-30-094) The Taxpayer Advocate Service Needs to Improve Its Processing of Economic Burden Cases (2008-10-088) Fiscal Year 2008 Statutory Audit of Compliance With Legal Guidelines Restricting the Use of Records of…
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TIGTA: Audit Rate of Largest Corporations Down 20%
The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration yesterday released an audit report, Trends in Compliance Activities Through Fiscal Year 2007 (2008-30-095), which found: Enforcement revenue collected increased to $59.2 billion Total dollar amount of uncollected tax liabilities increased to $290 billion Gap between new delinquent account receipts and closures by 63% Overall percentage of tax…
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TIGTA Praises Private Tax Collection Program
The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration has released Private Collection Agencies Adequately Protected Taxpayer Data (2008-20-078) (3/26/08): TIGTA reviewed the computer security controls over taxpayer data provided to the two current PCAs and determined that the controls were adequate. In particular, files were securely transmitted from the IRS to the contractors and adequately secured…
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CRS: Estate and Gift Tax Revenues
The Congressional Research Service has prepared Estate and Gift Tax Revenues: Past and Projected in 2008 (RL34418) (3/19/08). Here are two of the many interesting tables (click on tables to enlarge):
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IRS Examines <1% of Exempt Organizations Each Year
The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration has released Performance Measures and Improved Case Tracking Would Help the Exempt Organizations Function Better Allocate Resources (2008-10-057): There has been significant growth in the number of entities recognized as tax-exempt, with more than 70,000 tax-exempt applications processed annually. In Fiscal Year 2006, there were approximately 1.6 million…
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TIGTA Criticizes IRS’s Physical and IT Security
The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration has released: Actions Are Needed to Improve the Effectiveness of the Physical Security Program (2008-20-077) Improvements Are Needed to the Information Security Program Governance Process (2008-20-076)
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GAO: Charities Report Mixed Experiences with Changes in Vehicle Donation Rules
The General Accountability Office has released Selected Charities Reported Mixed Experiences after Changes in Vehicle Donation Rules (GAO-08-367). Here is the Report in Brief: The selected charities GAO contacted reported mixed experiences after the rules for claiming a tax deduction for donating a vehicle were changed. Prior to the law change, taxpayers could claim estimated…
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OCC Publishes Report on the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has published Low-Income Housing Tax Credits: Affordable Housing Investment Opportunities for Banks. Here is the abstract: Over the past two decades, the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program has addressed the nation’s affordable housing needs by financing nearly two million low-income units. This Insights report describes how…
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Tax Policy Chapter of Economic Report of the President
The Council of Economic Advisors yesterday released its Economic Report of the President. Here is the Tax Policy Chapter (22 pages). Here is the Introduction: Societies face two basic questions with regard to tax policy. The first question concerns the amount of revenue that should be raised. That is, what is the appropriate level of…
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FY 2009 Budget and Tax Documents
FY 2009 Budget General Explanations of the FY 2009 Budget ("Bluebook") Treasury Department Press Release FY 2009 Budget Tax Proposals FY 2009 Budget-in-Brief FY 2009 IRS Budget FY 2009 Tax Expenditure Budget FY 2009 Tax Receipts FY 2009 White House Budget Fact Sheet
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Treasury Department Releases Bluebook on Revenue Provisions of President Bush’s Final Budget
The Treasury Department today released its General Explanations of the Administration’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2009 Revenue Proposals — the "Bluebook." From the press release: The Administration’s FY 2009 Budget includes measures to permanently extend the President’s tax relief enacted in 2001 and 2003, promote savings and investment and improve compliance with the U.S. tax system.…
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Kleinbard Presents Inside the JCT Revenue Estimating Process Today at NYSBA Annual Meeting
Edward Kleinbard, Chief of Staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation, presented Inside the JCT Revenue Estimating Process today at the New York State Bar Association Annual Meeting. For a list of the panels, see the program. Other recent Joint Committee on Taxation publications: JCX-10-08: Distributional Effects of a Proposal to Provide Tax Credits for…
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The Effects of Taxes and Transfers on Income and Poverty in the U.S.
The U.S. Census Bureau has released The Effects of Taxes and Transfers on Income and Poverty in the United States: 2006. Here is the abstract: These estimates of income and poverty for various demographic groups use a series of alternative income definitions that take into account government taxes and transfers. These estimates show how income…
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Rankings of Federal District Judges
The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts has released its annual report on Federal Judicial Caseload Statistics through March 31, 2007. Today’s Legal Times discusses the reaction to the report in New Report Identifies the Slowest Federal Judges in the Land; Semiannual Report on Pending Cases and Motions Identifies the Judges with Steep Backlogs in…
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Joint Tax Committee Publishes List of Expiring Federal Tax Provisions, 2007-2020
The Joint Committee on Taxation today released List of Expiring Federal Tax Provisions, 2007-2020 (JCX-1-08). Here is the introduction: This document … provides a listing of tax provisions (other than those providing time-limited transition relief after the repeal of an underlying rule) that are currently scheduled to expire in 2007-2020 (with references to the applicable…
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TIGTA: Private Debt Collectors Bring in $29m of Back Taxes
The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration has released Invoice Audit of Fees Paid Under the Private Debt Collection Initiative (2008-10-054). The report found that private companies were paid $6.3 million to pursue delinquent taxpayers in the first year of the program and collected $29 million in back taxes (3.7% of the $787 million in…
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Who Bears the Burden of the Corporate Tax? Labor, Not Capital
The Treasury Department’s Office of Tax Analysis has released A Review of the Evidence on the Incidence of the Corporate Income Tax (OTA Paper 101), by William M. Gentry (Williams College, Department of Economics). Here is the abstract: Who ultimately bears the burden of the corporate income tax plays an important role in the distributional…
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CRS Releases The Retirement Savings Tax Credit: A Fact Sheet
The Congressional Research Service has released The Retirement Savings Tax Credit: A Fact Sheet (RS21795) (12/20/07), by Patrick Purcell: The Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (P.L. 107-16) authorized a non-refundable tax credit of up to $1,000 for eligible individuals who contribute to an IRA or an employer-sponsored retirement plan. The credit…
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GAO Releases Report on Costs and Uses of Third-Party Information Returns
The Government Accountability Office yesterday released Costs and Uses of Third-Party Information Returns (GAO-08-266): Report Highlights