7.1.2003

Recent Developments In IRS Criminal Tax Enforcement

A significant trend in the criminal tax area is the federal government’s stepped up efforts to audit, assess and enforce the tax laws. While we often hear that our system of taxation is voluntary, practitioners and taxpayers alike recognize the reality that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) wield a big stick. The IRS’s Criminal Investigation Division (CID), especially when collaborating with other federal agencies, has accelerated and intensified enforcement measures, getting the message out that criminal enforcement of the tax laws will be given greater emphasis in the immediate future. Statistics bear this out: the DOJ Tax Division authorized the prosecution of 968 defendants for tax fraud in 2002, an increase of 16 percent over the previous year. Prosecution authorizations have increased another 11 percent to date for 2003. View full article (PDF).