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- Written by: Erica Neuman, University of Dayton
The Internal Revenue Service is getting a funding boost thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act, which President Joe Biden signed into law in 2022.
That legislative package originally included about US$80 billion to expand the tax collection agency’s budget over the next 10 years. Congress and the White House have since agreed to pare this total by about $20 billion, but $60 billion is still a big chunk of change for an agency that until recently had about $14 billion in annual funding.
I’m a tax researcher who studies how the IRS uses technology and how taxpayers respond to the agency’s growing reliance on it. While the number of IRS enforcement personnel will surely grow as a result of additional funding, I think that the agency can get more mileage out of emphasizing technological improvements.
Making enforcement more efficient
The IRS plans to use most of these new funds to step up enforcement and improve customer service for taxpayers.
There’s been plenty of conjecture about what the added enforcement will look like and no shortage of fearmongering about the tens of thousands of new agents the IRS might hire.
Often left out of this discussion is the fact that the agency’s staffing was cut by 22% between 2010 and 2021. Much of the agency’s hiring spree will replace these labor shortages rather than fill new posts. Further, the IRS expects over 50,000 of its employees to retire within five years.
The agency aims to hire 20,000 people over the next two years, of which one-third will work in enforcement.
But IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel has indicated that better enforcement won’t just rely on more tax agents and auditors. He released a plan in early 2023 promising that “technology and data advances will allow us to focus enforcement on taxpayers trying to avoid taxes, rather than taxpayers trying to pay what they owe.”
And U.S. Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo has said that “the IRS is going to hire more data scientists than they ever have for enforcement purposes,” with the goal of using data analytics in audits.
At least initially, the agency was aiming to increase its spending on enforcement by 69%, from about $6.6 billion in 2022 to $11 billion in annual spending projected through 2031.
Technology, including the electronic filing of tax returns and a growing portfolio of online tools, transfers work from agents to computers. Online tools include the IRS’ digital scanning program, which expedites the processing of the roughly 1 in 5 federal tax returns that weren’t filed electronically in 2022.
Werfel says the IRS workforce is becoming more efficient by ramping up its reliance on technology to provide services for taxpayers and spot tax cheats.
The IRS has tapped one form of data analytics or another to select people and companies to audit since the late 1960s. As early as 1986, it had researched ways to use artificial intelligence to improve how it selects its auditing targets.
At the same time, outdated technology is hampering the Internal Revenue Service’s effectiveness. It relies on a 60-year-old computer system to maintain and process data. That undercuts its technological agility and customer service.
3 sources of data
When the IRS collects better data, its ability to use data analytics to make predictions about noncompliance improves.
Beyond data reported on tax forms themselves, like 1099s, the IRS has three main sources of data it assesses to learn more about taxpayers.
1. Past tax returns
The IRS’s National Research Program collects data to support what it calls “strategic decisions” to better enforce compliance.
The program first relies on its vast stores of taxpayer data, including prior audit results, to develop an expectation of what a given tax return may include, like a tuition tax credit for a taxpayer with a history of claiming the child tax credit. Filed returns are compared against those standards to identify potential outliers. Outliers aren’t necessarily dodging taxes or misrepresenting their tax liabilities, but big departures from the norms can indicate a higher likelihood of mistakes or evasion.
2. Publicly available data
The IRS relies on publicly available data associated with each tax return when it’s building a case for an audit.
The data, which is available to anyone who wants to find it, has increased tremendously with the rise of social media and the growing role of the internet for commerce and advertising. A social media presence can alert the IRS to a business with potential income in a way that the agency could not have identified before the internet emerged.
This includes methods that might surprise you.
As far back as 2010, for example, IRS training materials instructed agents to use a band’s social networking sites to compare musicians’ reported income with their likely income from their past performances. IRS training materials instruct agents to predict musicians’ gig income based on the number of shows a band advertises through its social media posts.
People make all sorts of financial information public today, including their side hustles and Venmo ledgers. The IRS can access and use this data like anyone else.
3. Third-party data
The IRS can also buy data.
For example, a 2020 government contract with the company Chainalysis is described, perhaps clumsily, as a contract for “pilot IRS cryptocurrency tracing.” This type of contract gives the IRS information related to otherwise untraceable income sources so that agents can detect underreporting.
What has changed in recent years is the volume of data it can access, which has skyrocketed.
Sometimes, widespread underreporting results in legislation which requires third parties to report income information to the IRS, rather than requiring the agency seek it out.
Recent legislation includes requiring third-party payment agencies like Venmo, PayPal and Uber to issue a 1099 tax form to anyone making over $600 on the app in one year. These 1099s are issued to taxpayers – and the IRS.
Similar legislation was recently proposed for cryptocurrency transactions.
What might change
What does this increase in IRS spending on technology mean for taxpayers?
When the IRS detailed how it wanted to use the new funds in April 2023, it emphasized improving taxpayers’ experiences and increasing compliance. By using chatbots to respond to taxpayer questions, providing online portals for real-time processing, and letting taxpayers respond to notices online, the IRS could substantially decrease the time taxpayers spend corresponding with the agency or waiting on hold while attempting to speak to a staffer.
Technology-boosted enforcement could help the agency collect more revenue to fund government programs.
And the agency also hopes to use data to make paying taxes less onerous for the majority of Americans who follow the rules.
For example, when a taxpayer has a child or experiences another kind of life change that will change their tax status, the IRS wants to gain the ability to proactively notify people about the consequences – whether it’s paying more, owing less or getting a new tax credit.
Most people want to pay what they owe, no more and no less. I believe the IRS intends to make good use of its new funding to help people do just that.
Erica Neuman, Assistant Professor of Accounting, University of Dayton
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
The board will meet beginning at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 12, in the board chambers on the first floor of the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St., Lakeport.
The meeting can be watched live on Channel 8, online at https://countyoflake.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx and on the county’s Facebook page. Accompanying board documents, the agenda and archived board meeting videos also are available at that link.
To participate in real-time, join the Zoom meeting by clicking this link.
The meeting ID is 946 4364 9954, pass code 558702. The meeting also can be accessed via one tap mobile at +16694449171,,94643649954#,,,,*558702#.
All interested members of the public that do not have internet access or a Mediacom cable subscription are encouraged to call 669-900-6833, and enter the Zoom meeting ID and pass code information above.
At 1:30 p.m., the board will administer the ceremonial oath of office to Public Health Officer Dr. Noemi C. Doohan.
The board hired Doohan last month after a lengthy search, and after the county has had an interim Public Health officer for more than a year.
The public hearing for the county’s final recommended budget for fiscal year 2023/2024 that had been planned for Tuesday will be held over to the next meeting on Sept. 19.
The full agenda follows.
CONSENT AGENDA
5.1: Adopt resolution amending Resolution No. 2023-78 establishing a new classification and amending the position allocation chart for Fiscal Year 2023-2024 to conform to the recommended budget revising salaries for classifications in Budget Unit 2111 Public Defender.
5.2: a) Approve travel to Washington DC exceeding 1,500 miles for Bruno Sabatier, Jessica Pyska, Stephen Carter and Matthew Rothstein to attend the National Association of Counties legislative conference; and b) approve travel exceeding 1,500 miles for Jessica Pyska and Bruno Sabatier to travel to the National Association of Counties Conference in Austin Texas retroactively.
5.3: Approve Amendment 1 to the agreement between county of Lake and Visit Lake County California correcting the language in section 3 compensation and authorize the chair to sign.
5.4: Adopt resolution approving MOU between county of Lake and Lake County Resource Conservation District for management of goatsrue in Lake County for July 1, 2023, through June 30, 2025, in the amount of $32,716.
5.5: Adopt resolution approving Agreement No. 23-0451-000-SA with the California Department of Food and Agriculture for Compliance with the Nursery Inspection Program for the period of July 1, 2023, through June 30, 2024, in the amount of $5000.
5.6: Adopt resolution approving Agreement No. 23-0287-000-SA with the California Department of Food and Agriculture for the Noxious Weed Program for the period of July 1, 2023, through June 30, 2025, in the amount of $42,421.
5.7: Adopt resolution approving Agreement No. 23-0026-018-SF with the California Department of Food and Agriculture to authorize eExecution of the Asian Citrus Psyllid Winter Trapping Program in the amount of $13,490 starting Oct. 1, 2023, through June 30, 2024.
5.8: Adopt resolution updating tax rates for local agencies, general obligation bonds and other voter approved indebtedness for Fiscal Year 2023-24.
5.9: Approve agreement between county of Lake and Ever Well Health Systems for adult residential support services and specialty mental health services in the amount of $75,000 for Fiscal Year 2023-24 and authorize the board chair to sign.
5.10: Adopt resolution authorizing the standard agreement between the County of Lake and the Department of Health Care Services for drug Medi-Cal services for the period of July 1, 2023, through June 30, 2027, and authorizing the Behavioral Health director to sign the standard agreement and the contractor certification clause.
5.11: Approve Amendment No. 2 to the agreement between county of Lake and the Smithwaters Group for Fiscal Years 2022-25 with no change to the contract maximum and authorize the board chair to sign.
5.12: Adopt proclamation designating the month of September 2023 as National Recovery Month in Lake County.
5.13: Approve lease between county of Lake and Berg Investments LP for 13300 East Highway 20, Unit N, Clearlake Oaks for a term commencing on July 1, 2023, and ending on Feb. 29, 2028, and authorize the Behavioral Health director to sign.
5.14: Approve Amendment No. 3 to the agreement between the Lake County Behavioral Health Services as lead administrative entity for the Lake County Continuum of Care and Sunrise Special Services Foundation with no change to the contract maximum for fiscal years 2022-23, 2023-24 and authorize the board chair to sign.
5.15: Approve Amendment No. 4 to the agreement between county of Lake and Sierra Vista for acute inpatient psychiatric hospital services and professional services associated with acute inpatient psychiatric hospitalizations in the amount of $106,572 and authorize the board chair to sign.
5.16: Approve Amendment No. 1 to the agreement between County of Lake and Adventist Health St. Helena and Vallejo for acute inpatient psychiatric hospital services and professional services associated with acute inpatient psychiatric hospitalizations in the amount of $500,000 for fiscal years 2021-22 and 2022-23 and authorize the board chair to sign.
5.17: Approve intergovernmental agreements regarding the transfer of public funds between the county of Lake and the California Department of Health Care Services for the Specialty Mental Health Services and Drug Medi-Cal Programs spanning fiscal years 2023-26 and authorize the Behavioral Health director to sign the agreements.
5.18: Approve agreement between county of Lake and Redwood Community Services Inc. for the Mental Health Services Act transitional age youth drop-in center and peer support services in the amount of $764,109.00 for fiscal years 2023-24, 2024-25, 2025-26 and authorize the board chair to sign.
5.19: Approve Amendment No. 1 to the agreement between county of Lake and Santa Rosa Behavioral Healthcare Hospital for acute inpatient psychiatric hospital services and professional services associated with acute inpatient psychiatric hospitalizations in the amount of $71,000 for fiscal year 2022-23 and authorize the board chair to sign.
5.20: Approve agreement between county of Lake and Star View Children and Family Services Inc. for youth community treatment services and specialty mental health services in the amount of $75,000 for fiscal years 2022-23, 2023-24 and authorize the board chair to sign.
5.21: Approve Board of Supervisors minutes for July 18, 2023.
5.22: Approve issuance of purchase order in the amount of up to $100,402.50 with ECS Imaging for document scanning services, and authorize the Community Development director to sign.
5.23: Approve common interest agreement between the county of Lake and the State Water Resources Control Board and Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board regarding investigation and potential enforcement against unlicensed cannabis cultivators and authorize the chair to sign.
5.24: Adopt proclamation designating Aug. 31 as International Overdose Awareness Day.
5.25: Approve the uniform and equipment allowance requested by the Animal Control Department for uniforms and equipment needed for animal control officers.
5.26: Waive the formal bidding requirement and authorize the IT director to issue purchase order for renewal of Microsoft Apps for Enterprise and associated licenses to Dell Marketing L.P.
5.27: Approve the agreement between the county of Lake and STRATA Architecture Planning Management for professional services for the courthouse heating ventilation and cooling system, and authorize the chair to sign.
5.28: Approve Change Order No. 1 with Wylatti Resource Management, for FEMA FMAG Culvert Replacement No. 3 Project, Federal Project No. Fema-5189-FM-CA, Bid No. 21-04 for a decrease of $9,124.48 and a revised contract amount of $246,737.30.
5.29: Approve Award of Bid for the Bartlett 99 Bridge Replacement Project, Bid No. 23-02, Federal Aid project No. BRLO-5914(111) with Stewart Engineering Inc in the amount of $2,352,435.00 and authorize the chair to sign.
5.30: Adopt resolution temporarily authorizing a road closure, prohibiting parking and authorizing the removal of vehicles and ordering the Department of Public Works to post signs for the Kelseyville Pear Festival Farm to Fork Dinner and Street Dance.
5.31: Adopt resolution temporarily authorizing a road closure, prohibiting parking and authorizing the removal of vehicles and ordering the Department of Public Works to post signs for the Kelseyville Pear Festival.
5.32: Approve Standard Agreement No. 23-5010 between county of Lake and California Department of Social Services for Resource Family Approval Program Services in the amount of $68,298.00 per fiscal year from July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024, and b) adopt resolution authorizing the director of Social Services to sign the standard agreement.
5.33: Approve the MOU between LACOSAN and the South Lake Fire Protection District, and the California Department of Forestry and FIre Protection for operations and placement of an air curtain incinerator in Middletown at the west end of the Middletown Wastewater Treatment Plant and Authorize the chair to sign the MOU.
5.34: (a) Waive the Competitive Bid Process per Section 2-38.4, Cooperative Purchases, of the County Code and (b) Approve the Purchase of a Ford F-550 Service Truck for KCWWD#3 and authorize the Special Districts administrator/assistant purchasing agent to sign the purchase request.
5.35: Sitting as the Kelseyville Water Works District #3 Board of Directors, authorize Special Districts Administrator/Assistant purchasing agent to issue a purchase order not to exceed $74,000.00 to Thomas & Associates for the purchase of a Gorman-Rupp 6” self-priming sewage pump.
5.36: Sitting as the Lake County Sanitation District Board of Directors, authorize Special Districts administrator/assistant purchasing agent to issue a purchase order not to exceed $68,000 to Thomas & Associates for the purchase of a Gorman-Rupp 4” self-priming sewage pump.
5.37: Sitting as the Lake County Sanitation District Board of Directors, authorize Special Districts administrator/assistant purchasing agent to issue a purchase order not to exceed $85,000 to Thomas & Associates for the purchase of a Gorman-Rupp 6” self-priming sewage pump.
5.38: Sitting as the Lake County Sanitation District Board of Directors, a) Waive the competitive bidding process, pursuant to Lake County Code Section 2-38.4 Cooperative Purchases; b) authorize Special Districts administrator/assistant purchasing agent to issue a purchase order not to exceed $79,000 to Garton Tractors for the purchase of a four-wheel drive ROPS tractor.
5.39: Sitting as the Lake County Sanitation District Board of Directors, a) Waive the competitive bidding process, pursuant to Lake County Code Section 2-38.4 Cooperative Purchases; b) authorize Special Districts administrator/assistant purchasing agent to issue a purchase order not to exceed $550,000 to Owen Equipment for the purchase of a Vactor 2100i Truck.
5.40: Sitting as the Board of Directors of the Lake County Watershed Protection District, a) waive the formal bidding process, pursuant to Lake County Code Section 38.2 (2), as competitive bidding is not in the public interest due to the unique nature of the goods and services and competitive bidding would produce no economic benefit to the county, and b) approve agreement with Caltest Analytical Laboratory for water sampling analysis in the amount not to exceed $49,000 per fiscal year and authorize the Water Resources director to sign the agreement.
5.41: Sitting as the Board of Directors of the Lake County Watershed Protection District, a) Waive the formal bidding process, pursuant to Lake County Code Section 38.2 (2), as competitive bidding is not in the public interest due to the unique nature of the goods and services and b) approve agreement with Pacific Ecorisk Analytical Laboratory for water and sediment Pyrethroid toxicity analysis in the amount not to exceed $100,000 per fiscal year and authorize the Water Resources director to sign the agreement.
TIMED ITEMS
6.2, 9:07 a.m.: Pet of the Week.
6.3, 9:08 a.m.: Presentation of proclamation designating the month of September 2023 as National Recovery Month in Lake County.
6.4, 9:09 a.m.: Presentation of proclamation designating Aug. 31 as International Overdose Awareness Day.
6.5, 9:15 a.m.: Public hearing, consideration of the Final Recommended Budget for Fiscal Year 2023/2024 for the county of Lake and special districts governed by the Board of Supervisors. This item is being postponed to Sept. 19 at 1:30 p.m.
6.6: 10:15 a.m.: Public hearing, consideration of resolution approving resolutions and capital fire facility and equipment plans submitted by Lake County Fire Agencies and updating the Lake County Capital Fire Facility and Equipment Plan.
6.7, 11 a.m.: Consideration of proposed agreement between the county of Lake and PlaceWorks for planning services for the general plan and local area plan updates.
6.8, 11:30 a.m.: a) Consideration of the County of Lake acting as lead agency on a planning grant application under the Community Resilience Centers Grant Program from the California Strategic Growth Council; and b) consideration of resolution approving the application to apply for up to $500,000 in grant funds under the Community Resilience Centers Program of Strategic Growth Council of the California Department of Conservation; and c) consideration of letter of commitment and authorization for the chair to sign.
6.9, 1:30 p.m.: Administer ceremonial oath of office to Public Health Officer Dr. Noemi C. Doohan MD Ph.D. MPH.
UNTIMED ITEMS
7.2: Consideration of letter of support for the Lake County Watershed Protection District’s request for Wildlife Conservation Board funding to conduct a Clear Lake hitch habitat improvement planning and assessment for Tule Lake, Scotts Creek and Adobe Creek.
7.3: Consideration of request for motion by the board to designate the chief administrative officer as the signer for the chair on all documents as indicated by Resolution 2023-34 "Resolution of the Lake County Board of Supervisors Authorizing the Application for the Permanent Local Housing Allocation Program."
7.4: Consideration of appointment of County Librarian Christopher Veach to the North Bay Cooperative Library Systems Board of Directors.
7.5: Consideration of the following Advisory Board Appointments: First Five Lake County, Heritage Commission, Library Advisory Board, Resource Conservation District, Food Policy Council.
7.6: Consideration of Amendment One to the agreement with COAR Design Group for facility design services for the Behavioral Health Clearlake Facility Expansion Project.
7.7: Consideration of Lake County Department of Social Services department head authority to authorize contracts between $25,000 to $100,000 for out-of-county wraparound services without board approval if contracts are eligible under the master contract for wraparound services.
CLOSED SESSION
8.1: Conference with legal counsel: Significant exposure to litigation pursuant to Gov. Code section 54956.9(d)(2), (e)(1) — Two potential cases.
8.2: Public employee discipline/dismissal/release.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
The committee, or LEDAC, will meet via Zoom from 7:30 to 9 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 13, in the council chambers at Lakeport City Hall, 225 Park St.
The meeting is open to the public.
Chair Wilda Shock said there will be three short information presentations, planning for the Business Walk program this fall, and updates on LEDAC and city projects.
Police Chief Brad Rasmussen will discuss the homelessness and mental illness town hall later this month and National Night Out.
Nicole Flora, executive director of the Lake County Economic Development Corp., will discuss the comprehensive economic development strategy.
Benjamin Rickelman, Lake County’s deputy county administrative officer on economic development will offer broadband and economic development updates.
LEDAC’s next meeting will be Nov. 8.
LEDAC advocates for a strong and positive Lakeport business community and acts as a conduit between the city and the community for communicating the goals, activities and progress of Lakeport’s economic and business programs.
Members are Chair Wilda Shock, Vice Chair Denise Combs and Secretary JoAnn Saccato, along with Bonnie Darling, Jeff Davis, Candy De Los Santos, Bill Eaton, Monica Flores, Pam Harpster, Laura McAndrews Sammel, Bob Santana and Tim Stephens. City staff who are members include City Manager Kevin Ingram and Community Development Department representatives.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
Call Lake County Animal Care and Control at 707-263-0278 or visit the shelter online for information on visiting or adopting.
The following cats at the shelter have been cleared for adoption.
Female brown tabby
This cute 2-year-old female brown tabby has green eyes and a short coat.
She is in kennel No. A4, ID No. LCAC-A-5491.
“Star” is a 2-month-old female domestic shorthair with a tuxedo coat.
She is in kennel No. A26c, ID No. LCAC-A-5580.
“Ranger” is a 3-month-old male Siamese kitten with blue eyes and a short coat.
He is in kennel No. A96a, ID No. LCAC-A-5392.
Domestic shorthair kitten
This 5-month-old female domestic shorthair cat has a gray tabby coat.
She is in kennel No. A#96b, ID No. LCAC-A-5464.
Female shorthair kitten
This 3-month-old female domestic shorthair cat has a gray coat.She is in kennel No. A96c, ID No. LCAC-A-5641.
Email Elizabeth Larson at