Obama seeks to double tax law enforcement budget

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama proposed on Thursday nearly
doubling funds to enforce U.S. tax laws next year, with an aim of more than quadrupling
funding for tax compliance to $2.1 billion within five years.

The budget plan seeks $12.1 billion for the Internal Revenue Service, responsible
for collecting and enforcing individual and corporate tax laws, for fiscal 2010, which
begins October 1. That amounts to a roughly 5.2 percent increase over the IRS budget
for 2009, which was $11.5 billion.

The budget proposal, which must be approved by Congress, includes a $890 million
request to boost tax enforcement, including in the international arena, an increase of
$400 million from 2009.

Underreporting of income by individuals and businesses led to a "tax gap" of $345 billion
in 2001, the most recent year available, according to the government. Of that, corporate
income tax and employment tax underreporting made up about $84 billion, according to
a report by the Government Accountability Office.

The Obama administration said it would use the funds to further expand its efforts to
boost compliance outside the U.S., "placing greater scrutiny on cross-border transactions
and tax issues."


http://www.reuters.com/article/press...5464DP20090507