Senate Finance chairman urges new strategy for IRS to combat tax evasion

Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) on Tuesday called for new tools to help the IRS fight complex tax-evasion schemes.

His call comes on the heels of a Government Accountability Office
(GAO) report that showed the agency was using antiquated techniques when
trying to catch tax cheats.

The report found that the IRS’s traditional examination approach of focusing on a single entity and a single tax year does not align well with uncovering network-related tax evasion since these schemes tend to cross multiple IRS divisions. 

Baucus has urged the IRS to adopt the GAO’s recommendation for the agency to establish an IRS-wide strategy that coordinates its network when combating tax evasion.  

“This report makes clear the IRS needs to develop a comprehensive strategy to fight complex tax evasion schemes and that more work is needed to close the tax gap,” Baucus said in prepared remarks. “I intend to closely monitor the IRS’s progress to make sure they have an effective strategy to root out this tax evasions and close the tax gap once and for all.”