After a review found that some IRS employees may have used improper deductions
to lower their taxes, the IRS says it is taking additional steps to ensure its
employees adhere to tax law.
IRS Commissioner Mark W. Everson announced a multi-step initiative that will
include a new review of tax behavior of IRS employees, a deeper IRS compliance
and auditing effort for employees, and an expanded education and outreach effort
inside the agency.
"For the IRS, enforcement begins at home," says Ecerson. "We
are serious about tax enforcement, whether it's our own employees or anyone
else not following the law."
The new initiative follows a review by the IRS and the Treasury Inspector General
for Tax Administration (TIGTA) involving the tax returns of about two dozen
agency employees who filed Schedule C, "Profit or Loss from Business."
About half of the 25 employees identified had tax-compliance issues following
an investigation of their Schedule C filings, according to the agency. Several
employees in the inquiry have already lost their jobs.
"I am disappointed that a small but unacceptable number of our employees
have generated false business deductions to reduce their taxes," Everson
says. "We have a zero tolerance standard for abuse of the tax laws by employees."
