Tax Brake with Robert G. Nath, Esq.

Actually, it is quite interesting, since it notes trends that can affect every taxpayer, including divorcing and separating couples. Here are a few nuggets. (If you want more, click on irs.gov, then “Tax Stats” and then “Announcements.”)

The IRS collected more than $4 billion more in 2001 than 2000 from enforcement actions, a total of over $32 billion. To do this, it issued 50% more federal tax liens and nearly doubled the number of levies (actual seizures of property). There were 428,000 seizures in 2001. (While this seems like a lot, prior years' numbers were in the millions.)

The agency also assessed delinquent taxpayers for over $10 billion. That's the amount that goes into the “inventory” for collection. And, over 1 million more delinquent accounts were assigned for collection action. The IRS assessed over $32 billion in penalties.

To keep you truly honest, the IRS started over 3,000 criminal investigations. It referred 2/3 of those for prosecution, and of those, over 90% went to conviction, either by trial or by plea. Eighty-four percent of those who were convicted went to jail - actual jail time.

On the audit side, “coverage” still is scanty, with an overall audit ratio of about ½ of one percent. This statistic is well known, but don't let that fool you. If you have inconsistencies on your return, the IRS is getting better all the time about catching them. Example: both parties to a divorce claim the children as exemptions. Or: both file for innocent spouse relief or separate liability election.

The long and short is that the IRS is slowly but surely getting back into the business of serious enforcement and collection, after being deterred for years by the 1998 reform act and the current reorganization.