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$11 million. The
projected sweetheart payout to private debt collectors for bringing
in only $46 million in tax debts this year. 2.9 million.
The number of taxpayer files the IRS plans to turn over to debt collectors
under its privatization program. Many of these taxpayers—who
have filed their return, acknowledged their debt, but don’t
have the money to pay—are lower-income taxpayers, people for
whom English is not their primary language, and seniors.
69,204. The
number of consumer complaints last year to the Federal Trade Commission
about the private sector debt collection industry—which once
again generated the most complaints. 19.9 percent. The
percentage of all consumer complaints to the FTC last year that involved
third party debt collectors—up from 19.1 percent of all complaints
the year before. 25 percent. How
much of a bounty private debt collectors get to keep under the IRS
private tax collection program. $1.4 billion. The
amount of tax debts private companies say they can collect over 10
years under IRS contracts. $9 billion. The
amount of additional tax debts IRS employees could collect in a single
year with only a modest increase in resources. Five Dozen. The
number of taxpayer complaints the IRS said have been generated by
the tax debt privatization program in its initial phase since last
fall. $2,680. The
annual amount the IRS’s National Taxpayer Advocate describes
as the ‘surcharge’ taxpayers who comply with their tax
obligations pay in taxes to make up for those who don’t comply. Nine million. This
is how many people every year the Federal Trade Commission says are
victims of identity theft—a real risk when personal data gets
into the public domain.
From 158 million to 177 million. The
growth in the number of tax returns filed between 1996 and 2005. From 114,000 to 94,000. The
decline in the number of IRS employees in that same period. 32 percent. The
decline in that period, from 8,139 to 5,462, in the number of IRS
Revenue Officers, who collect large delinquent accounts.
23 percent. The
decline over that time span, from 16,078 to 12,355, in the number
of IRS Revenue Agents, who perform audits. Nearly 1,200. This
is the anticipated “savings” in full-time positions that
would occur as a result of the administration’s fiscal 2008
IRS budget proposal. 1,147. This
is the number of those 1,200 positions that would be in enforcement
and taxpayer service programs. 42 cents. How
much it cost IRS employees in fiscal 2006 to collect $100 in tax revenue.
That’s down from 46 cents per $100 the year before, and it is
the third-lowest cost figure since 1982. $11.095 billion. The
White House’s proposed IRS budget for fiscal 2008—an amount
$546 million less than the $11.641 billion recommended by the independent
IRS Oversight Board, which has broad budgeting, strategic planning
and other responsibilities regarding the IRS. Zero. The
amount of money beyond the president’s budget request the IRS
has told Congress it needs in fiscal 2008. 92,814. The
number of full-time IRS employees proposed in the administration budget
for the coming fiscal year—a number reflecting 32 fewer employees
than at the end of fiscal 2006. $345 billion. Known
as the ‘tax gap,’ this is the difference between taxes
owed and taxes paid. It keeps growing because the IRS doesn’t
seek the resources it needs to close it. 1,885. The
number of IRS positions that could be added each year with a 2 percent
annual net increase in IRS funding over five years to rebuild the
IRS workforce to pre-1998 levels. |
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