Why owing a lot of taxes could ruin your travel abroad

But the new passport rule does indicate the government wants to get serious about collecting unpaid tax debts from individuals. Or more accurately, it reveals policy inconsistency coming out of Washington, as it corresponds with budget cuts mandated by Congress that have impeded the ability of the Internal Revenue Service to enforce the laws and go after tax cheats.

 

For example, the headcount of IRS criminal investigators has dropped to slightly more than half the level of a decade ago, as the audit rate for individual taxpayers has dipped below 0.9 percent. Meanwhile, efforts to combat tax-related identity theft are soaking up more of the agency’s time and resources, with about one in five IRS manpower hours now devoted to problems tied to the theft or attempted theft of taxpayer refunds. That’s in addition to requirements that the IRS now enforce provisions of the Affordable Care Act — a responsibility it didn’t have a few years ago.

 

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