IRS Employees Targeted in Tax Audit Review

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IRS Employees Targeted in Tax Review
Fri Jan 2, 3:01 PM ET Add White House - AP Cabinet & State to My Yahoo!



WASHINGTON - The Internal Revenue Service (news - web sites) has identified 800 employees whose tax returns will face closer scrutiny, part of an effort to make sure IRS employees are filing truthful returns and complying with tax laws.



The agency said Friday that these employees "face an examination on Schedule C issues, most of which are already under way." A Schedule C deals with reporting profits or losses from a business and is filed if the taxpayer or his or her spouse runs a business.


An IRS spokesman declined to say precisely what prompted the IRS to flag the employees for review, but said that the agency had some questions about their returns. The 800 employees are just a fraction of the 115,000 full- and part-time employed by the IRS.


IRS Commissioner Mark Everson said the agency is taking extra steps to make sure IRS employees are following the law.


"The multistep initiative will include a new review of tax behavior of IRS employees, a deeper IRS compliance and auditing effort for employees and an expanded education and outreach effort inside the agency," the IRS said.


The agency already regularly reviews employees' tax returns and other information to ensure they are complying with tax laws.


Earlier this year, a review found that "about half of the 25 employees identified had tax compliance issues following an investigation of their Schedule C filings," the IRS said. "Several employees in the inquiry have already lost their jobs."