TaxVox: Tax administration (individual)

To Help Close The Tax Gap The IRS Should Focus On Small Business Compliance, Not EITC Claimants

March 14, 2019 –

Although overall IRS audit rates are remarkably low (less than one percent), returns claiming an EITC are twice as likely to be audited as those...

Carolyn Tavenner Has Left the Building: The IRS And Taxpayers Are Worse Off For It

March 8, 2019 –

A few weeks back, my colleague Renu Zaretsky wrote about the IRS’s brain drain. As many experienced employees retire or prepare to do so, the...

How The Partial Government Shutdown Will Affect You This Tax Filing Season

January 18, 2019 –

Tax filing season is due to begin in 10 days. Will the IRS will be able to process returns as usual?

Individual Taxes

The Tax Hound: Case Files

July 1, 2018 –

Tax policy isn't just for economists, lawyers, or policymakers. Taxes affect us all and The Tax Hound engages the rest of us in interesting conversations about what government taxes, and why.

Individual Taxes

Kautter Is The Wrong Choice As Acting IRS Commissioner

October 26, 2017 –

President Trump has named Assistant Treasury Secretary for Tax Policy David Kautter as acting commissioner of the IRS. He’d serve in both posts until a...

Campaigns, Proposals, and Reforms

The IRS’s Commendable Silence In The Presidential Campaign

November 3, 2016 –

Have you noticed the contrast in recent weeks between the FBI and the IRS? The FBI is seemingly in every other headline in this year’s...

Individual Taxes

Congress May Be About To Miss a Chance to Fix A Tax Prep Problem

April 19, 2016 –

The Senate Finance Committee is about to miss an opportunity to fix a problem Congress has been complaining about for years. Tomorrow, the panel is...

Tax Day From The Trenches: How the IRS Handles Identity Theft

April 18, 2016 –

The IRS and the Justice Department are working hard to combat stolen identity return fraud. But one important security tool is making life needlessly...