WebCPA reports that the federal government says it must improve the way it handles criminal tax investigation cases referred to the Justice Department for prosecution:
The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) evaluated the steady increase beginning in 2003 in the number of criminal tax cases pending in the prosecution pipeline at the Justice Department and the impact this had on the CI Division’s resources.
TIGTA confirmed steady growth in the number of criminal cases in the prosecution pipeline, rising from 2,733 in 2002 to 3,915 in 2009. The CI Division believes that the prosecution pipeline’s increase began when the Justice Department shifted its operational priorities to focus on national security issues.
“While criminal tax cases must sometimes compete for attention against cases involving other high-profile felony charges and national security issues, their value in deterring criminal tax fraud is significant,” said TIGTA Inspector General J. Russell George in a statement.
“Our review found that the Criminal Investigation Division can do its part to bring such matters to trial by adopting practices that will permit more strategic management of its caseload inventory. A sharper focus is important because the administration and Congress see cracking down on tax evasion as a way to reduce the tax gap.”
We have seen an increase in criminal tax investigations and prosecutions since President Obama took office in January 2009. We expect that trend to continue as the President makes good on his pledge to close the tax gap.
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