Does Representation Matter in IRS Office Audits?

2004 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nancy B. Nichols ◽  
John Ellis Price
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Internal Revenue Service ◽  
Perceived Benefits ◽  
Internal Revenue ◽  
Tax Assessment ◽  
Final Assessment ◽  
Tax Practitioners ◽  
The Impact

Tax practitioners often represent clients before the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). It is generally assumed that clients enjoy significant benefits when represented by a tax practitioner during an IRS audit, such as limitations on the final assessment of tax and penalties. To the best of our knowledge, there is no research that directly analyzes the impact of taxpayer representation on IRS audit outcomes because there is no data on whether the taxpayer was represented. This research provides empirical evidence regarding one of the perceived benefits of representation—a reduction in the final tax assessment by the IRS—and is a first step in determining when an individual should hire a professional representative for an IRS office audit. The results indicate that the final tax assessment is significantly less for taxpayers with representation during an IRS office audit, both in dollars and as a percentage of the potential deficiency.

Useless/redundant/unread information returns and protective filings

2015 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 40-48
Author(s):  
Roger Lorence
Keyword(s):  
Best Practices ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Large Body ◽  
Tax Compliance ◽  
Internal Revenue Service ◽  
Investment Management ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Technical Paper ◽  
Internal Revenue ◽  
Tax Practitioners

Purpose – To describe the best practices for complying with the increasingly large body of information returns required by the Internal Revenue Service of participants in the investment management industry and the severe penalties that apply to noncompliant taxpayers. Design/methodology/approach – This technical paper describes the explosive growth of information returns and protective return filings required of investment management industry participants, based upon the author’s advising tax return preparers and taxpayers charged with filing these forms. Findings – Each tax return filing season has demonstrated the ever-increasing and enormous waste of effort and money but no relief is in sight. The expectation of relief from the tax authorities at any level or from Congress and other legislative bodies, is remote. Originality/value – This paper provides timely guidance from a practitioner in the field of tax compliance including a summary of current forms to be reviewed by tax practitioners with investment management industry clients, either on the manager or the investor side.

The Impact of Section 7491 on Requirements for Timely Filing Tax Returns

2004 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-25
Author(s):  
A. Blair Staley ◽  
Donald T. Williamson
Keyword(s):  
Burden Of Proof ◽  
Internal Revenue Service ◽  
Internal Revenue ◽  
Tax Returns ◽  
The Law ◽  
The Impact

Section 7502 of the Internal Revenue Code (“I.R.C.”) provides that a timely filed tax return or other document will be considered received by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) when mailed. Courts differ on whether I.R.C. § 7502 precludes a taxpayer from presenting credible evidence other than a physical postmark to establish when and if a tax return was timely filed. The article traces the development of the law interpreting when a tax return is considered “filed” and what evidence must be presented to prove that filing. It finds that the enactment of I.R.C. § 7491 in 1998, which shifts the burden of proof to the IRS under certain circumstances, does not resolve the issue of what evidence establishes filing. Under I.R.C. § 7491, the taxpayer must first present “credible evidence” of timely filing before the burden of proof shifts to the IRS. The issue remains unresolved whether the I.R.C. § 7502 mailbox rule is the only means for proving the timely filing of a tax return.

scholarly journals The Impact of Continuous Training on Maximizing Efficiency in Tax Administration: The Case of a State Internal Revenue Service (SIRS) in the North Central Region of Nigeria

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 165-172
Author(s):  
Muritala Awodun, PhD ◽  
Faizu Edu, PhD
Keyword(s):  
Employee Commitment ◽  
The State ◽  
Internal Revenue Service ◽  
Tax Administration ◽  
Continuous Training ◽  
Internal Revenue ◽  
The North ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Revenue Administration ◽  
The Impact

The purpose of this study is to establish the role of continuous training in maximizing efficiency in tax administration using the case of a State Internal Revenue Service (SIRS) in the North Central Region of Nigeria. The study examined the strategies adopted for continuous training by the SIRS and subsequently measured the impact of these strategies on the performance of all levels of management (low, middle and top) of the SIRS under focus. The SIRS identified the need for training from its inception and built into its process the entry training programme (of 3 months) for all staff, the monthly field feedback and training (of a day monthly) for all staff, directorates’ regular technical training, professional trainings, and leadership and management trainings (both local and international). These schedule five stage trainings have become a closely knitted continuous training strategy that has improved the skills and capacities of the employees of the SIRS. To ascertain the extent to which the above have impacted on the employees, the SWOT Analysis was adopted along with the appraisal of five set of questionnaires applied to 642 staff of the SIRS present at a particular month field feedback session. The five set of questionnaires were designed to measure; (1) the state of change readiness of employees of the SIRS for service excellence, (2) the state of change thinking of employees of the SIRS for service excellence, (3) the state of resistance to change by the employees of the SIRS, (4) the state of resistance to going through the process of change by the employees of the SIRS, and (5) the state of resistance to leaving the current state for the desired state of excellence. All these are targeted towards measuring the state of readiness for change, through continuous training, on the employees’ commitment, efficiency and performance. The above is in addition to the analysis of the individual strengths and weaknesses that culminates in the organizational strengths and weaknesses, including the environmental opportunities and threats which have a significant role to play on the organizational performance. The findings revealed that between 73 - 87 percent of the staff of the SIRS are change ready, with positive change thinking mentality, not resistant to change, not resistant to going through the change process, and are not resistant to leaving the current state for the desired state of excellence. Ultimately, the study concludes that there is a positive relationship between continuous training, and employee commitment and job satisfaction, on the one hand, and continuous training and performance excellence as relating to efficiency and effectiveness in tax administration, on the other hand. This study is a pioneer one that extends the employee commitment debate to the Internal Revenue Service, using this SIRS as a case study. It provides an explanation, with empirical evidence, by demonstrating that training extends direct positive effect on employee commitment in revenue administration. The study also demonstrates that, in the revenue administration, job satisfaction helps to transmit the effect of continuous training on employee commitment and performance excellence.

The Impact of Accounting Methods, the Doctrine of Election, and Income Distortion on a Start-Up Election

2013 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-54
Author(s):  
Glenn Walberg
Keyword(s):  
Internal Revenue Service ◽  
Business Growth ◽  
Internal Revenue ◽  
Start Up ◽  
Initial Characterization ◽  
New Business ◽  
Doctrine Of Election ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Initial Choice ◽  
Tax Accounting

ABSTRACT A taxpayer with an existing business generally can establish return-signing positions to characterize the growth of its business as occurring either through an expansion of the existing business or the start of a new business. The selected character then determines the manner by which the taxpayer recovers costs associated with the growth. This article explores how the taxpayer's initial choice to characterize business growth as an expansion or start-up could become binding on the taxpayer and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) under accounting method rules and/or the doctrine of election, which would permit a recharacterization only to avoid income distortion. The article concludes that those tax accounting concepts could unjustifiably make the initial characterization binding, irrespective of its accuracy, due to the difficulty of showing that a particular characterization causes income distortion.

Hispanic and Asian Earnings Inequality: New Workers and Immigrants

2020 ◽  
Vol 110 ◽  
pp. 442-446
Author(s):  
Randall Akee ◽  
Maggie R. Jones ◽  
Sonya R. Porter ◽  
Emilia Simeonova
Keyword(s):  
Labor Market ◽  
Panel Data ◽  
Census Data ◽  
Earnings Inequality ◽  
Internal Revenue Service ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Internal Revenue ◽  
Us Census ◽  
The Impact ◽  
New Immigrant

Using confidential-use, individual-level Internal Revenue Service and US Census data, we follow the earnings of Hispanics and Asians between the ages of 18-45 with panel data that spans the years 2005-2014. These two groups represent the largest immigration flows in recent years. We examine the impact that labor market entrants and new immigrant arrivals within each group have on group earnings inequality. We show that labor market entrants and immigrants increase inequality for both groups.

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