It's worth reading the whole thing, but I share some highlights:
1. Among corporations with assets over $250 million, the IRS reduced the number of audits by 22 percent and the number of hours spent auditing by 33 percent between 2005 and 2009. In an era of high deficits and higher concern over corporate malfeasance, there are no excuses. Congress even increased the number of full time auditors available for such work by 6 percent.
Audit hours, change for large corporations
between FY 2005 and FY 2009
Changes in IRS revenue agent hours
between FY 2005 and FY 2009
3. Unsurprisingly, audits of smaller corporations reveal less unpaid revenue for the work. Misreported tax dollars among the giants came to $9,354 per auditor hour, eight times higher than uncovered for the small and mid-size firms.
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This piece originally appeared at the Campaign for America's Future.