Tax Administration: IRS's Budget Request for Fiscal Year 1993,

Abstract

The administration's fiscal year 1993 budget request for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is for 115,798 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) staff years and about $7.24 billion. That is 414 FTEs less and $562 million more than authorized for last year. GAO's testimony makes several points: The budget includes two initiatives that would provide more staff for IRS to examine more returns and collect more delinquent taxes. Although GAO has supported such initiatives in the past, data in the budget and other IRS data raise questions about their long term effect. Despite additional staffing authorized for Collection and Examination in fiscal year 1991 and the additional staffing being requested in this budget, IRS' projections for fiscal year 1993 show minimal growth in Collection staffing and decline in Examination staffing compared to fiscal year 1990. This is because IRS has been unable to sustain the funding needed to maintain increased staffing levels. IRS' inability to sustain any growth in Collection and Examination staff comes at a time when the trends in accounts receivable are bad and audit coverage is projected to again fall below 1 percent. The fiscal year 1993 budget for another enforcement effort, the Information Returns Program, indicates a decline of 1,307 staff years since 1991. IRS projects that the number of under-reporter cases worked under this Program in 1992 will be about 38 percent less than the number worked in 1991. The fiscal year 1993 budget includes about $50 million in expected productivity savings from new or enhanced computer systems. Most of these savings, like those in the fiscal year 1992 budget, appear to have been based on unrealistic assumptions. As a result, programs are being cut to reflect "savings" that are not really there. P.2 (KAR)

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Apr 30, 1992
Accession Number
ADA290784

Entities

People

  • Jennie S. Stathis

Organizations

  • United States Government Accountability Office

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