Everson Reports Good Results From IRS Partnership With State Tax Adminstrators

by Leroy Baker, Tax-News.com, New York

09 June 2004

IRS Commissioner Mark W. Everson has announced that the agency’s partnership initiative with state tax administrators has produced some early results for the authorities as they attempt to stamp out tax-related crimes.

“We are pleased with the initial progress on this partnership,” Everson told the Federation of Tax Administrators' annual conference on Monday, adding: “We’ve already shared 28,000 leads with the states.”

Everson went on to explain that the IRS and the states are exploring new ways to extend cooperation with state tax administrators to reduce duplication, improve taxpayer service and intensify the fight against non-compliance with the state and federal tax systems.

Specifically, tax administrators want to identify non-filers, detect the abusive use of offshore payment cards, uncover money laundering, and provide one-stop internet service to businesses and individuals seeking both state and federal employee identification numbers (EIN) for their enterprises.

Commenting on the initiative, Harley Duncan, executive director of the Federation of Tax Administrators, which represents tax agencies in 50 states, the District of Columbia, and New York City argued that the partnership was often the “most efficient” method of tax enforcement and represents the “best way to help honest taxpayers deal with their multiple responsibilities."

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