Through the IRS’s recently published 2018-2022 Strategic Plan, the Internal Revenue Service, under the leadership of IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig, has clearly articulated their vision for becoming a more taxpayer-centric and modern agency. Part of the documented strategy of the IRS is to reduce taxpayer burden and prevent taxpayer noncompliance so that the IRS can dedicate the bandwidth and resources required to focus their enforcement efforts on complex cases and intentional abuses of tax law. The experts at Optima Tax Relief reviews how one of the six key goals outlined in the plan highlights the IRS’ commitment to protecting the integrity of our tax law system.
The fundamental premise of the second goal of the six-goal plan is to enable and empower the IRS to “protect the integrity of the tax system by encouraging compliance through administering and enforcing the tax code.” One of the key ways the IRS achieves this goal is through monitoring the tax gap, which is largely driven by non-compliance. Additionally, the efforts of the IRS to actively identify and pursue criminal activity relative to tax law is a crucial component of meeting this goal.
The IRS conducts its criminal investigations through several different organizations across the IRS system. The IRS Criminal Investigation (CI) organization serves as the hub for all criminal investigations related to tax law. There are several different criminal activity areas that the IRS oversees through its criminal investigation function including:
- Refund fraud
- Tax-related identity theft
- Unscrupulous return preparers and employment taxes
- Money laundering
- Currency violations
- Terrorist financing
In addition to these Law Enforcement areas, the IRS also focuses on education, outreach, and coordinated cross-functional publicity to help prevent criminal activity within the tax space, including the IRS Return Preparer Program and the IRS Whistleblower Office. In 2019 alone, the IRS Whistleblower Office paid out $120,305,278 through 181 awards to whistleblowers.
The six strategic goals outlined in the 2019-2022 plan outline the IRS’s strategic priorities and will serve as the guiding principles to move the IRS forward over the coming years. Click here to read the full IRS 2018-2022 Strategic Plan.
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