IRS Targets Rich Taxpayers: Audit Rates Up 80%

By Robert Frank
WSJ

The rich not only face calls for higher taxes. They also face more audits to make sure they pay.

According to the latest 2010 IRS Data Book, audits for the wealthy surged in 2010. Among taxpayers who reported $10 million or more in income in 2010, more than 18% were audited. That is up 80% from 2009, when only 10% were audited, and in 2008, when 9% were audited.

The rates were higher for other high-income taxpayers, too. The report showed that among taxpayers who reported $5 million to $10 million in income, nearly 12% were audited, compared with 6% in 2008. For those earning $1 million to $5 million, audits rose to 7% in 2010 from 4% in 2008.

Still, the $10 million or more crowd–which represented .01% of all returns–is clearly the fattest target, since that is where the money is.

(More here.)