David Burnham and Susan B. Long, co-directors of the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse
at Syracuse University have spent many good years tracking the
relationship between U.S. government and corporations. They have
a new report out today.
“Greetings
— New IRS data show far fewer agency audits aimed at large
corporations providing investment advice, various kinds of banking and
credit services and insurance than to corporations in other businesses.
The big disparities — documented in previously undisclosed data obtained
and analyzed by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC)
— concern corporations with $250 million or more in assets. At one
extreme are the corporations providing financial services where less
than one in five were audited in FY 2002, 2003 and 2004. At the other
extreme are the corporations involved in either agriculture, mining and
construction, or heavy manufacturing and transportation. Here, 100%
were audited.
Considered as a whole, the corporations with $250 million or more in
assets are a major force in the economy, controlling 90% of all
corporate assets and 87% of all corporate income. Despite their
dominant role, however, the new IRS data document that on an overall
basis only about one in three were audited.
Other data show that despite recent IRS claims that it is vigorously
enforcing the tax laws, the audit rate for all corporations has
continued to decline along with the face-to-face audits of wealthy
taxpayers.
To see TRAC's IRS press advisory go to http://trac.syr.edu/media/
David Burnham and Susan B. Long, co-directors
Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse
Syracuse University
488 Newhouse II
Syracuse, NY 13244-2100
315-443-3563
trac@syr.edu
http://trac.syr.edu
