IRS on a rampage as nearly one in three HNW individuals audited

IRS on a rampage as nearly one in three HNW individuals audited
Swat team created in 2009 to target wealthy filers seeing planty of action
MAR 09, 2012
By  John Goff
The Internal Revenue Service in 2011 audited 29.93 percent of taxpayers who reported more than $10 million of income, according to statistics released today. That's up from an audit rate of 18.38 percent in 2010 and 10.60 in 2009. Overall, the agency's rate of audits for individual taxpayers stayed constant at 1.11 percent. The statistics cover audits conducted in fiscal year 2011, which generally corresponds to tax returns filed during 2010. For U.S. taxpayers with adjusted gross incomes between $5 million and $10 million, the audit rate rose to 20.75 percent from 11.55 percent. People making between $200,000 and $500,000 were audited at a 2.66 percent rate. In 2009, the IRS created a special unit to examine the tax returns of high-wealth individuals. “We will take a unified look at the entire web of business entities controlled by a high-wealth individual, which will enable us to better assess the risk such arrangements pose to tax compliance and the integrity of our tax system,” IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman said in a December 2009 speech. “We want to better understand the entire economic picture of the enterprise controlled by the wealthy individual and to assess the tax compliance of that overall enterprise.” --Bloomberg News --

Latest News

SEC Says Game Service Roblox Part of ‘Active Investigation’
SEC Says Game Service Roblox Part of ‘Active Investigation’

Short sellers previously said the company was under investigation, though Roblox denied allegations.

Musk’s DOGE descends on CFPB with intention to shut it down
Musk’s DOGE descends on CFPB with intention to shut it down

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is in the crosshairs of the Republican group that is widely attempting to dismantle government agencies.

Advisor fighting Finra banishment loses $17.7 million dispute with old firm
Advisor fighting Finra banishment loses $17.7 million dispute with old firm

National Securities Corp. sued the advisor in 2020, alleging breach of contract and unjust enrichment.

Job numbers, inflation leaving room for Fed to hold rates
Job numbers, inflation leaving room for Fed to hold rates

Recent data support a measured pace by the Federal Reserve for the year ahead.

Private assets remain hot despite surging stock market
Private assets remain hot despite surging stock market

Financial advisors are still adding alternatives despite the surge in publicly traded stock prices

SPONSORED Taylor Matthews on what's behind Farther's rapid growth

From 'no clients' to reshaping wealth management, Farther blends tech and trust to deliver family-office experience at scale.

SPONSORED Why wealth advisors should care about the future of federal tax policy

Blue Vault features expert strategies to harness for maximum client advantage.