IRS Updates Website To Alert Taxpayers To Scams

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

10 May 2002

The US Internal Revenue Service announced on Wednesday that it has updated the Tax Fraud section of its website in order to keep taxpayers fully abreast of the latest scams and schemes.

The updated tax fraud alerts page now provides links to news items on recent civil and criminal tax actions against promoters and participants in tax evasion schemes, and offers access to information on recent IRS enforcement efforts and warnings on current scams.

Speaking on Wenesday, IRS Commissioner, Charles Rossotti explained the reasoning behind the improvements: 'Identifying and combating actively promoted tax schemes is our highest compliance priority,' he announced in a statement: 'Nothing undermines confidence in the tax system more than the impression that the average honest taxpayer has to pay his or her taxes while unscrupulous taxpayers are allowed to get away with not paying.'

Warning US citizens to avoid investment and tax minimisation schemes which sound too good to be true, the head of the tax agency's Criminal Investigation unit, Mark Matthews said that he hoped the updated page would help to protect taxpayers by keeping them informed.

Although several recent scams have concentrated on specific sectors of society, such as the promotion of claims for bogus slavery reparation tax credits, Mr Matthews warned earlier this week that tax fraud is 'costly to all Americans'.

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