Yearly Archives: 2025

The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) has published the details of its audit of the Taxpayer Advocate Service's (TAS) Office of Systemic Advocacy. (Audit Report No. 2025-300-006)

The audit was initiated to evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of the Office of Systemic Advocacy and determine the extent to which the office fulfills its mission, TIGTA said.

As described in the audit, TAS is responsible for the identification and resolution of systemic, procedural, and legislative issues that may affect taxpayers. TAS considers a problem to be systemic if the impact:

• Affects multiple taxpayers.

• Involves IRS systems, policies, or procedures.

• Affects taxpayer rights, increases taxpayer burden, causes disparate treatment of taxpayers, or involves essential taxpayer services.

"To resolve systemic problems that impact taxpayers, the Office of Systemic Advocacy sometimes works with the IRS using cross functional teams," the audit explained, adding that "these collaborative teams may include Office of Systemic Advocacy analysts and IRS employees from various business operating divisions."

A review of 26 collaborative teams that closed during a 21-month period found that only six teams (or 23%) had both a documented objective or mission and a measurable outcome. 

"The Remaining 20 Teams Lacked A Documented
Objective Or Mission, Did Not Have A
Measurable Outcome, Or Both," TIGTA Said.

The Office of Systemic Advocacy does not conduct quality reviews of the collaborative teams, it added.

Further, "TAS has not developed additional performance measures to capture the overall effectiveness of advocacy projects and their impact on tax administration from a previous TIGTA recommendation they agreed to in Fiscal Year 2011," the audit said.

In addition, "issues submitted by taxpayers and other stakeholders into the Systemic Advocacy Management System (SAMS) and resulting information gathering projects were not always reviewed or worked timely," TIGTA said. The audit offered examples in support of this conclusion.

Of the 9,400 systemic and non-systemic issues closed from SAMS in FY 2022, 809 (9 percent) issues were not reviewed timely and took more than 40 days to close. Of the 809 untimely issues, 147 issues took over 90 days.

The IRM states that in general, the recommended treatment for the issue should be developed within 40 business days. Depending on the complexity of the issue, some issues are resolved within a few days, but others may take longer. For example, an issue may take longer if it requires a subject matter expert to help evaluate the issue. 

We selected a judgmental sample of 51 issues (31 systemic issues and 20 non-systemic issues) from the 9,400 issues closed in SAMS in FY 2022 and found that:

• 40 of the 51 sampled issues were not reviewed timely.
• 20 • 20 systemic issues took from 61 to 217 days to resolve. 
• We did not find a reason in the case file for why these issues were untimely. 
• The remaining 11 issues were either reviewed timely or had the reasons for the delays documented in the case file.  
• 20 non-systemic issues took from 92 to 186 days to resolve. We did not find a reason in the case file why these issues were untimely.  
• TAS management agreed that the 40 issues were untimely and responded that some of the causes for not meeting the 40-day requirement included: 
• 20 issues were delayed due to staffing. TAS management stated that in FY 2022, TAS experienced a significant increase in SAMS issue inventory, along with analysts being detailed to the SIRE group, which required the permanent staff to train them (the SIRE group only had three permanent analysts and two detailed analysts).
• Additionally, staffing issues affected their technical teams and IRS function employees who provided input and research on the issues. 
•  20 issues were delayed due to improper management of an employee’s inventory. TAS management said that they developed inventory management tools, including inventory 

"Finally, the Office of Systemic Advocacy does not analyze the SAMS submissions to determine if trends in systemic issues exist or monitor or track systemic issues that are closed prior to resolution," the audit said.

TIGTA made 11 recommendations and, according to the audit, TAS agreed with all of the recommendation and "plans to take corrective actions."

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The Trump administration is drafting plans to significantly reduce the Internal Revenue Service workforce by as much as 50% through a combination of layoffs, natural attrition, and incentivized buyouts.

This dramatic downsizing effort, part of a broader initiative to shrink the federal government, would transform an agency that currently employs approximately 90,000 workers nationwide. The administration hopes to achieve the reductions by the end of the year, the source said.

These steep cuts are expected to end its growing progress to improve customer service, modernize, and catch taxpayers not paying what they owe. 

Without the beefed-up workforce thanks to the tens of billions of extra funding from the 2022 tax-and-climate law known as the Inflation Reduction Act, audits will likely take longer and phone wait times will go back up.

“These Layoffs Would Add Hundreds Of Billions or More
To Deficits And Encourage Tax Cheating, Tilting The Tax
System Further Toward The Wealthy and Business
Interests at The Expense of Everyday Americans” 
Lily Batchelder, former assistant treasury secretary for tax policy and
professor at NYU Law, said in a statement.

A reduction in force of tens of thousands of employees would render the IRS “dysfunctional,”
said John Koskinen, a former IRS commissioner.

The IRS employs roughly 90,000 workers and people of color make up 56% of the IRS workforce, with women representing 65%.

The reduction goal includes:

• IRS employees who have already left or were fired, which is about 12,000 employees. 
• Between 4% and 5% of the IRS’s workforce took the offer from Trump adviser Elon Musk to resign and be paid until Sept. 30, the leader of the agency’s union said earlier Tuesday. and
• About 7,400 probationary employees at the agency have been fired.

More than half of the IRS workforce is eligible to retire within six years, according to National Taxpayer Advocate Erin Collins in a report earlier this year. Actually, the most recent strategic operating plan, states that 63% of the current IRS workforce is eligible to retire within six years.

 Have an IRS Tax Problem?

     Contact the Tax Lawyers at

Marini & Associates, P.A. 

for a FREE Tax HELP Contact us at:
www.TaxAid.com or www.OVDPLaw.com
or Toll Free at 888 8TAXAID (888-882-9243)

Sources

The New York Times

The Associated Press

Bloomberg Law

Read more at: Tax Times blog

On March 3, 2025 we posted BOI Was Back But Treasury Now Says That It's Off Again - Is This Any Way to Run a Country? where we discussed that the Department declared that it would suspend enforcement of the CTA and the associated Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) reporting requirements for domestic companies and U.S. citizens. This shift represents a major departure from the original intent of the law, which was designed to combat illicit financial activities through increased transparency of both domestic and foreign entities.

Key Developments

1. Enforcement Pause: The Treasury Department will not enforce CTA reporting requirements against U.S. citizens, domestic entities, and their beneficial owners.
2. Scope Reduction: Treasury intends to issue a proposed rule limiting the CTA's application to foreign reporting companies only.
3. Deadline Extension: FinCEN previously announced a revision of beneficial ownership information reporting deadlines, with a new deadline to be set in an upcoming interim final rule.

Support for the Change:

• Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent views this as a "victory for common sense" aligning with efforts to reduce regulatory burdens on small businesses.
• The Cato Institute's Brent Skorup suggests Treasury may rely on statutory discretion to exempt most small businesses and nonprofits.

Criticism and Concerns:

• Transparency advocates argue this change could make the U.S. a haven for illicit financial activity and may violate global anti-money laundering standards.
  • See our post US Is World's Best Tax Haven & Location For Hiding Income. 
• Some legal experts, like Chye-Ching Huang of the Tax Law Center, contend that Treasury lacks the authority to not enforce a law enacted by Congress.
• Critics, including Senator Ron Wyden, view this as potentially benefiting entities seeking to hide illicit activities.
  • See our post US Is World's Best Tax Haven & Location For Hiding Income. 

Ongoing Uncertainties

1. Legal Status: The CTA remains in effect, despite Treasury's non-enforcement stance, creating potential risks for non-compliant entities.
2. Information Clarity: There are concerns about the consistency and accessibility of information regarding these changes, with announcements coming from different sources within Treasury.
3. Future Developments: The situation remains fluid, with potential for further legal challenges, congressional action, or additional regulatory changes.

This shift in CTA enforcement represents a significant policy change with wide-ranging implications for corporate transparency and anti-money laundering efforts in the United States.

Need Help Filing Your BOI Report?

 

     Contact the Tax Lawyers at

Marini & Associates, P.A. 

 

 

 

for a FREE Tax HELP Contact us at:
www.TaxAid.com or www.OVDPLaw.com
or Toll Free at 888 8TAXAID (888-882-9243)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Read more at: Tax Times blog

On February 20, 2025 we posted BOI is Back With a New March 21, 2025 Deadline! where we discussed that with the February 18, 2025, decision by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas in Smith, et al. v. U.S. Department of the Treasury, et al., 6:24-cv-00336 (E.D. Tex.), beneficial ownership information (BOI) reporting requirements under the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) are once again back in effect.

Now on March 2, 2025, the U.S. Treasury Department announced a significant change regarding the enforcement of the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA). 

The Department Declared That It Would Suspend
Enforcement Of The CTA And The Associated
Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) Reporting Requirements For Domestic Companies And U.S. Citizens.

Key points of this announcement include:

• Suspension of penalties: The Treasury will not issue fines, penalties, or take enforcement actions against companies that fail to file or update BOI reports under the current deadlines.

• Narrowing scope: The Treasury is preparing a proposed rulemaking to limit the CTA's application to foreign reporting companies only.

• Upcoming rule changes: By March 21, 2025, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) intends to issue an interim final rule extending BOI reporting deadlines.

• Public comment: FinCEN plans to solicit public input on potential revisions to existing BOI reporting requirements.

This decision effectively pauses the CTA's implementation for domestic entities, which was originally designed to combat money laundering, terrorist financing, and other illicit activities. The move has been welcomed by some as reducing regulatory burdens on businesses, particularly small enterprises. 

“This is a victory for common sense,” said U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent.  “Today’s action is part of President Trump’s bold agenda to unleash American prosperity by reining in burdensome regulations, in particular for small businesses that are the backbone of the American economy.”

However, critics argue that this change could potentially weaken efforts to combat financial crimes and maintain corporate transparency.

It's important to note that while the enforcement is suspended, the Treasury Department is working on new regulations that will likely bring significant changes to the existing reporting regime.  

Need Help Filing Your BOI Report?

     Contact the Tax Lawyers at

Marini & Associates, P.A. 

Read more at: Tax Times blog