Source link According to a recently released report, hundreds of thousands of taxpayers in the United States may be paying fines for inaccurate tax returns due to a lack of successful prosecutions from the Internal Revenue Service.
The report, conducted by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) reveals that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has failed to properly use the appropriate procedures to punish delinquent taxpayers, resulting in a staggering 500,000 taxpayers that have been fined for incorrect tax returns over the past five years.
The TIGTA says that the IRS is missing out on vital revenue when it comes to misinformation and inaccurate filing of tax returns. When taxpayers fail to fill out their returns or mistakenly file the wrong amounts, they can be subject to fines that should be enforced when the discrepancies are detected.
However, due to lax adherence to the procedure by the IRS, many of these taxpayers are simply getting away with outrageous amounts of fines. The report also put emphasis on the fact that the enforcement of these fines is mostly arbitrary, with some taxpayers being forced to pay thousands in fines, whilst others get away with a few hundred dollars in fines.
The IRS has since responded to the situation by saying that they are doing all they can to ensure that all fines are enforced accuratly and that taxpayers are encouraged to file accurate tax returns in light of the findings.
While this report has been released, it remains to be seen how the IRS will address the massive discrepancy between those who should be fined and those who have escaped fines altogether. It’s time for the government to start enforcing tax regulations, and ensure that no one is getting away with paying their taxes incorrectly.
