IRS claims billions of dollars are missing
Did you pay all of your taxes? Some individuals and business have not and it is adding up. The Internal Revenue Service has reported that the gap between taxes paid and taxes owed stood at more than $300 billion, with a large portion due to individuals understating income.
“Even after IRS enforcement efforts and late payments, the government is being shortchanged by over a quarter trillion dollars by those who pay less than their fair share,� said IRS Commissioner Mark Everson. “People who aren’t paying their taxes shift the burden to the rest of us.�
The IRS recovered $55 billion of the unpaid taxes through audits and late payments, leaving a net gap of $257 billion and $298 billion — about the same amount as the government expects to spend on Medicare this year.
The largest source of unpaid taxes came from individuals, not businesses. Among the individuals who contributed to the tax gap, most understated their income, particularly business income. Most wages and investment income were reported accurately.
Much smaller portions of the tax gap can be attributed to people who don’t file tax returns and people who file a return but don’t pay all the taxes they owe.
The $83 billion to $99 billion in underreported business income ranked as the top source of tax money missing from individual returns. That includes partnership, estate, rent, royalty and farm income. Excessive deductions, exemptions, credits and other adjustments accounted for $25 billion to $30 billion of the tax gap.
It appears that almost everyone has heard some derragatoroy comment about the IRS, but let’s take a look at if we are being honest wtith this system. Those that are not reporting correctly, those not reporting, those not paying, all these individuals are displacing the burden onto the honest citizen. It is time that we close this gap by being honest and also by letting those around us know that these actions are cheating honest individuals and not the government. We all have a responsibility here. We may not like paying out this money, but if we cheat, then more and possibly stricter enforcement or higher rates of interest will be implemented.
Then there are some people that have a return due and the IRS has not been able to locate them. How do you claim this money? You can do a web search for unclaimed property and find out if your in the federal database for unclaimed property as well as data on how to claim this money.
