The news out of Washington is good for the taxpayer but bad for the budget.

Budget cuts forced the IRS to reduce the number of tax audits last year to the lowest level in a decade, IRS Commissioner John Koskinen said Tuesday. is hard to believe that with revenue needed to offset the federal national budget IRS would cut audits.

It is one of the main sources of revenue for the Internal Revenue Service. Taxpayers are getting comfortable with not being audited and are being more aggressive aggressive and financial and tax positions willing the risk to be audited.

Simply put, the number of audits could be even lower this year.

WHY ???

The math is pretty simple.

There are fewer audits because we have fewer auditors.
Commissioner Koskinen said in a speech to the New York State Bar Association.

“There are fewer audits because we have fewer auditors.” and just does not make sense because the only way to collect tax dollars by enforcing the tax law and have tax cheats pony up.

“IRS Audits fell in virtually every individual category and across income levels,” Koskinen said. “This continues a long-term trend that carries serious implications for our tax system and the nation.”

Numbers of Taxpayers Audited by IRS

Last year, the IRS audited 1.2 million individual tax returns. That’s less than 1 percent of the returns that were filed, the lowest rate since 2004.

Please keep in mind this number applies for those under $250,000 in adjusted gross income. The more money you make the more there is a chance your tax returns again to be audited.

IRS is down more than 2,200 IRS revenue agents since 2010.

Last year a little more than 11,600 revenue agents examined returns, and Koskinen is warning that the number of agents will decline again this year simply because Congress has cut the agency’s budget by $1.2 billion since 2010.

The IRS will receive $10.9 billion for the budget year that ends in September.

The New IRS Budget Proposal

Obama has proposed a $12.9 billion budget for the IRS in the coming budget year.

That’s is about an 18 percent increase. one must not believe that budget is going to fly with the public in led Congress. Being for the people certainly is not increasing the budget of IRS.

But What about the New Health Care Law

The agency’s budget cuts have come as the IRS is starting to play a bigger role in implementing Obama’s health care law.

For the first time, taxpayers have to report on their tax returns whether they have health insurance.

Millions of taxpayers who are receiving tax credits to help pay insurance premiums have to report them as well.He said the IRS is required to enforce the law, so other areas will have to be cut, including taxpayer services and enforcement.

Time off for employees, yes another furlough

The IRS projects that about half the people who call the IRS for assistance this filing season won’t be able to get through to a person. this is nothing new. As a practitioner when you do get through you can hold anywhere from 30 minutes to one hour.

The agency is also considering shutting down operations for two days later this year  after tax season — resulting in unpaid furloughs for employees and service cuts for taxpayers, Koskinen said