IRS moves Audit Pressure from the Largest Companies to Individual Taxpayers

The IRS's scrutiny of the biggest U.S. companies is running at a 20-year low, according to a study conducted by a research group affiliated with Syracuse University. The study, made public Sunday, points to "a historic collapse in audits." It found that major corporations - defined as those with assets of at least $250 million – have about a one in four chance of being audited, down from about three in four almost 20 years ago.

That makes me wonder where the IRS is placing its extra audit scrutiny. Well, according to the research group – the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, or TRAC – individuals have about a 10 percent chance of being audited, more than double the odds in 2000. However, the IRS claims it is more focused on partnerships and other “opaque [business] entities.”

For the International Herald Tribune’s full article, click here.