Recent TIGTA Report on Criminal Enforcement Against Employment Tax Noncompliance Criticizes IRS for Ineffectively Addressing Employment Tax Crimes, Offers Lessons to Employers/Responsible Parties Under Audit or In IRS Collections
On March 21, 2017, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) issued a report titled, “A More Focused Strategy Is Needed to Effectively Address Egregious Employment Tax Crimes.” The Report noted that, as of December, 2015, 1.4 million employers owed approximately $45.6 billion in unpaid employment taxes, interest, and penalties. The report indicated that in 2015, the IRS assessed the TFRP against 38% fewer responsible persons than just five years before (asserting the TFRP against just 11% of responsible individuals), and that simultaneously the number of employers with egregious employment tax noncompliance (20 or more quarters of delinquent employment taxes) has tripled in a 17-year period. TIGTA was concerned that, despite this noncompliance, there are fewer than 100 criminal convictions for employment tax violations per year.
