US millionaires favourite whipping boys of tax sleuths
Group more likely to be examined than those making below $200,000
Washington: One in eight people earning $1 million (Dh3.67 million) or more annually was audited by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) last year, making them far likelier to be examined than those making below $200,000, data showed Thursday.
Just 1 in 100 individuals earning less than $200,000 had their income tax returns examined, the IRS said.
The IRS is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury that collects taxes and the interpretation and enforcement of the country's tax codes. Being audited by the IRS is generally seen as an arduous and often scary experience.
In 2011, the agency garnisheed wages or seized money from bank accounts 3.7 million times, put liens on property 1 million times and seized 776 pieces of property.
The agency collected a total of $2.3 trillion in revenue last year from individuals and businesses, including the $55 billion from its enforcement efforts.
All together, the IRS audited nearly 1.6 million of the 141 million individual income tax returns that were filed. In 2010 — the most recent year available — more than 8 in 10 individuals audited ended up paying additional taxes.
The 12 per cent of millionaire earners audited in 2011 was appreciably higher than the 8 per cent who were audited in 2010.
IRS officials said the high ratio was part of an effort to demonstrate that tax laws are applied fairly.
