Last week I wrote a Tax Resolution University post about the recent release of the IRS Criminal Investigation Annual Report for 2012 showing strong increases in enforcement actions and IRS penalties imposed on convicted tax criminals.
IRS CI investigates potential criminal violations of the Internal Revenue Code and financial tax crimes to ensure confidence and compliance with the law. Here are some statistics (for the year ending Sept. 30, 2012) from the 28-page CI report:
- Initiated investigations and prosecution recommendations: both up nearly 9 percent in fiscal 2012 compared to 2011.
- Filings of indictments and other charging documents: up 13 percent.
- Convictions and those sentenced both gained roughly 12 percent from the prior year.
- Criminal investigation initiations totaled 5,125 cases in fiscal 2012.
- Completed investigations were 4,937 – up 5 percent from fiscal 2011.
- Convictions totaled 2,634 in fiscal 2012.
- The conviction rate saw a slight increase to 93 percent.
The Chief of Criminal Investigation, Richard Weber stated that the focus if CI is essentially to stop tax fraud, identity theft, offshore tax evasion, public corruption, money laundering and other financial crimes.
It’s no surprise CI cases have increased in the last few years. The prolonged recession has drained government coffers. As a result, the IRS has been given the authority to go after and collect from tax cheats with a vengeance. All the more reason people with IRS tax issues need to take steps to resolve them before they ever get to the criminal stage.
If you have significant tax debt or have participated in any sort of frivolous tax shelter, you could have an IRS audit or major IRS problems in your near future. Your best defense is to consult with a certified tax resolution specialist, tax audit specialist, or tax attorney who can help get you into IRS compliance and back on solid financial footing.
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