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Do not fill this in! ==Tax collection statistics== [[File:20220826 Share of unpaid taxes, by income level - area chart, treemap - NYTimes - Dept of Treasury.svg|thumb|U.S. Treasury Department estimates of unpaid taxes indicate that over half of all unpaid taxes are attributable to the top 5% of earners.<ref name=NYTimes_20220826>{{cite news |last1=Lopez |first1=German |last2=Wu |first2=Ashley |title=Conspiracy Theories / How more funding for the I.R.S. became a political firestorm |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/26/briefing/conspiracy-irs-tax-agency-fraud.html |work=The New York Times |date=August 26, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220826102900/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/26/briefing/conspiracy-irs-tax-agency-fraud.html |archive-date=August 26, 2022 |quote=Source: U.S. Department of Treasury; Estimates from 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref>]] Summary of collections before refunds by type of return, fiscal year 2021:<ref name="IRS 2021-2">{{cite web | title=SOI Tax Stats - IRS Data Book | website=Internal Revenue Service | url=https://www.irs.gov/statistics/soi-tax-stats-irs-data-book | access-date=2023-02-11}}</ref> {| class="wikitable" |- ! Type of return || Number of returns || Gross collections<br /><small>to the nearest million US$</small> |- | [[Income tax in the United States|Individual Income tax]] ||align="right"| 167,915,264 ||align="right"| 2,294,051 |- | [[Federal Insurance Contributions Act tax|Employment taxes]] ||align="right"| 33,865,353 ||align="right"| 1,258,171 |- | [[Corporate tax in the United States|Corporate income tax]] ||align="right"| 2,143,717 ||align="right"| 419,009 |- | [[Excise tax in the United States|Excise taxes]] ||align="right"| 1,276,921 ||align="right"| 58,290 |- | [[Gift tax in the United States|Gift tax]] ||align="right"| 282,054 ||align="right"| 4,621 |- | [[Estate tax in the United States|Estate tax]] ||align="right"| 3,241,024 ||align="right"| 54,004 |- | Total ||align="right"| 208,724,333 ||align="right"| 4,088,146 |} [[File:NYC IRS office by Matthew Bisanz.JPG|thumb|[[New York City]] field office for the IRS]] For fiscal year 2009, the U.S. Congress appropriated spending of approximately $12.624{{spaces}}billion of "discretionary budget authority" to operate the Department of the Treasury, of which $11.522{{spaces}}billion was allocated to the IRS. The projected estimate of the budget for the IRS for fiscal year 2011 was $12.633{{spaces}}billion.<ref>See Table, p. 115, ''Budget of the U.S. Government: Fiscal Year 2011'', Office of Management and Budget, Executive Office of the President of the United States (U.S. Gov't Printing Office, Washington, 2010), at [https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/sites/default/files/omb/budget/fy2011/assets/budget.pdf Whitehouse.gov] (PDF)</ref> By contrast, during Fiscal Year (FY) 2006, the IRS collected more than $2.2{{spaces}}trillion in tax (net of refunds), about 44 percent of which was attributable to the individual income tax. This is partially due to the nature of the individual income tax category, containing taxes collected from working class, small business, self-employed, and capital gains. The top 5% of income earners pay 38.284% of the federal tax collected.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.irs.gov/taxstats/indtaxstats/article/0,,id=129270,00.html#_mti |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120806062016/http://www.irs.gov/taxstats/indtaxstats/article/0,,id=129270,00.html#_mti |archive-date=August 6, 2012 |title=SOI Tax Stats{{snd}}Individual Income Tax Rates and Tax Shares |website=irs.gov}}</ref><ref>[http://www.free-press-release.com/news/200710/1191980491.html 'New IRS Data Reveals That the Rich Really Do Pay Tax{{snd}}Lots of It'] by John Gaver. Press Release, Actionamerica.org, October 9, 2007.</ref> As of 2007, the agency estimates that the United States Treasury is owed $354{{spaces}}billion more than the amount the IRS collects.<ref>[https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9031439 IRS Commissioner Assailed on 'Tax Gap'] by Jack Speer. [[Morning Edition]], [[National Public Radio]], March 21, 2006.</ref> This is known as the tax gap.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/the-tax-gap|title=The Tax Gap |website=Internal Revenue Service}}</ref> The gross tax gap is the amount of true tax liability that is not paid voluntarily and timely. For years 2008–2010, the estimated gross tax gap was $458{{spaces}}billion. The net tax gap is the gross tax gap less tax that will be subsequently collected, either paid voluntarily or as the result of IRS administrative and enforcement activities; it is the portion of the gross tax gap that will not be paid. It is estimated that $52{{spaces}}billion of the gross tax gap was eventually collected resulting in a net tax gap of $406{{spaces}}billion.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-soi/p1415.pdf|title=Gross tax gap|access-date=April 12, 2012}}</ref> In 2011, 234 million tax returns were filed allowing the IRS to collect $2.4{{spaces}}trillion out of which $384{{spaces}}billion were attributed to mistake or [[tax evasion|fraud]].<ref>USA today page 1B/2B published April 12, 2012 "complex tax code raises problems for taxpayers and IRS"</ref> ===Outsourcing collection and tax-assistance=== In September 2006, the IRS started to outsource the collection of taxpayers debts to private debt collection agencies. Opponents to this change note that the IRS will be handing over personal information to these debt collection agencies, who are being paid between 29% and 39% of the amount collected. Opponents are also worried about the agencies' being paid on percent collected, because it will encourage the collectors to use pressure tactics to collect the maximum amount. IRS spokesman Terry Lemons responds to these critics saying the new system "is a sound, balanced program that respects taxpayers' rights and taxpayer privacy". Other state and local agencies also use private collection agencies.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/uniontrib/20060823/news_1b23irs.html |title=IRS plan for private debt collection draws criticism |work=[[The San Diego Union-Tribune]] |date=Aug 23, 2006 |access-date=Apr 30, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160602133304/http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/uniontrib/20060823/news_1b23irs.html |archive-date=June 2, 2016 }}</ref> In March 2009, the IRS announced that it would no longer outsource the collection of taxpayers debts to private debt collection agencies. The IRS decided not to renew contracts to private debt collection agencies and began a hiring program at its call sites and processing centers across the country to bring on more personnel to process collections internally from taxpayers.<ref>[https://www.irs.gov/uac/IRS-Conducts-Extensive-Review,-Decides-Not-to-Renew-Private-Debt-Collection-Contracts "IRS Conducts Extensive Review, Decides Not to Renew Private Debt Collection Contracts"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160128123133/https://www.irs.gov/uac/IRS-Conducts-Extensive-Review,-Decides-Not-to-Renew-Private-Debt-Collection-Contracts |date=January 28, 2016 }}</ref> As of October 2009, the IRS has ceased using private debt collection agencies. In September 2009, after [[ACORN 2009 undercover videos controversy|undercover exposé videos]] of questionable activities by staff of one of the IRS's volunteer tax-assistance organizations were made public, the IRS removed [[Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now|ACORN]] from its volunteer tax-assistance program.<ref>Wheaton, Sarah (September 23, 2008). [https://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/24/us/politics/24acorn.html "Acorn Sues Over Video as I.R.S. Severs Ties"]. ''[[The New York Times]]''.</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page