IRS Rumors: Are Any True?

Over the next nine years, the Internal Revenue Service plans to incrementally hire 87,000 new employees and will receive an increase in funding to $80 billion. There have been swirling speculations concerning how these employees will be used and whether this poses concerns for most taxpayers.
How employees will be trained and deployed. The IRS contends that most of these employees will be replacements for workers who will be retiring over the next several years. These include technology specialists, customer service representatives and IRS enforcement agents. According to the Washington Post, the IRS has been underfunded for years. This has impacted the processing of returns and fully implementing tax avoidance strategies. Over the next five years, 50,000 agents will be eligible for retirement. However, approximately $45.6 billon of these funds will be hallmarked mostly for enforcement.
Will The Number of Audits Increase and Who Will Be Audited? After the Senate passed their spending bill in August, rumors surfaced that new tax agents would be targeting middle-income Americans. According to the IRS, however, their target will be those whose earnings exceed $400,000 a year and that middle income earners and small businesses would not see an increase in the percentage of audits. Should high income earners be concerned? Yes.
How Will the IRS Enforce Carrying Out Their Duties. A screenshot appeared online of the IRS Job description that stated agents working under the Criminal Investigation Division would be required to carry firearms and be willing to use deadly force “if necessary.” This requirement went viral. It was taken down over 12 hours later and was called “erroneous” and denied by the IRS. We cannot be certain whether IRS special agents will use force, and if so, what that force will include.
What should you do? Pay your taxes on time and do so accurately, especially if you are earning over $400,000 a year. You do not want heavy fines or worse. The best way to pay less tax is to do it legally through tax planning. A tax specialist can help minimize your taxes for the remainder of this year and for years ahead. You will be better served by a tax service that is available throughout the year. We offer our clients unlimited year-round tax planning advice and encourage our clients to take advantage of this.
Professional Tax Services is a locally owned provider serving over 3,500 local residents and businesses. For more information, call 661-259-1967 or visit www.protaxservices.com. Through their complimentary EZ2 Thrive program, they provide unlimited free tax planning advice to their clients.