Fraudsters are relentless but tax agencies are tenacious in their pursuit of illicit acts. In recent years, synthetic identity fraud has emerged as a significant threat to businesses and tax agencies. Unlike traditional identity theft, where criminals steal real personal information, synthetic identity fraud involves creating entirely new identities by
Fraud knows no boundaries. It’s one of the biggest challenges related to tax governance around the world. Tax crimes have serious consequences – tax losses, tax base erosion, national security risks and economic disruption. The effect is far-reaching. Governments are strained to fill the gap between revenues and spending and
The COVID-19 pandemic forced government agencies to accelerate digital transformation efforts, and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) was no exception. The IRS was already in a significant transition period, spurred by the Taxpayer First Act, which was signed into law in July 2019. The Act was designed to improve the
In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, the issue of tax administration was low on the agenda for most. Beyond the obvious public health concerns, most business and government leaders were focused on how best to keep businesses afloat. But for those in federal, state and local governments responsible
SAS experts point to five trends that are shaping the future for digital tax administration.
Die Steuerbehörden sind wahrscheinlich nicht jedermanns Lieblingsorganisationen. Aber überall auf der Welt spielen sie eine Schlüsselrolle bei der Erhebung von Einnahmen, die es den Regierungen ermöglichen, Geld für wichtige öffentliche Dienstleistungen auszugeben. Man braucht nur die Medienberichterstattung über die Steuerhinterziehung einiger großer Technologieunternehmen zu lesen und die dazugehörigen Bemühungen der
Did you pay your taxes? From stiff penalties to even jail time, the federal government provides plenty of incentive for citizens to pay, but each year nearly one in five Americans do not pay on time. This leads to a more than $450 billion gap in unpaid taxes, creating a
As Tax Week arrives, tax agencies may be overlooking fraud happening under their noses – fraud perpetrated by insider threats. While the agencies are focused on the hot fraud topics of the day – identity verification quizzing, protecting PIN files, and cybersecurity – insider threats pose a particularly insidious risk.
Historically, tax havens have been a key tool for tax evaders to store and hide unreported and untaxed money. I would agree with most observers that the Panama papers (11.5 million leaked documents that detail financial information for more than 214,488 offshore entities) are just the tip of the tax
Cooperation and information sharing between tax authorities around the world can help ensure that taxpayers pay the right amount of tax to the right jurisdictions. The Common Reporting Standard (CRS) is an agreement between countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development to collect and share data from their financial institutions annually. This remarkable achievement
There are several ways to buy data, and even more companies who are willing to sell it. By annual subscription or by the drink, third-party data vendors promise they can solve your identity theft and non-compliance problems. It’s as simple as signing a contract, and letting the data tap begin
International Fraud Awareness Week is here! I know, I know… Fraud Week is not quite as exciting as Shark Week. It doesn’t appeal to your taste buds like Restaurant Week. Nor does it have the quirky feel of Brain Awareness Week (nope… I’m not making that one up!!). Nevertheless, Fraud Week is
Happy Tax Day, America! Today marks our annual ritual of filing tax returns in the United States. And complaining about taxes. And cursing the IRS (even though it's misguided to shoot the messenger, in my opinion). Think you know a lot about taxes? Let's travel back in time to 1913, when
Monday, April 18th is Tax Day, aka, National Identity Theft Day. OK, that part’s not true, but as millions of taxpayers go online to file taxes, it may as well be. The majority of taxpaying citizens file online, using services such as the popular TurboTax, H & R Block, and
Across the globe, governments are losing billions in revenues to organised VAT fraud. The most recent VAT Gap study published by the European Commission estimates that EU countries lost an estimated €168 billion in VAT revenues in 2013. That's equivalent to 15.2% of the total expected VAT revenue from the
Tax preparation software has encouraged the gamification of tax evasion, making it tantalizingly simple to bump up the value of a tax refund. This is alarming, but it's easy to see how we got here. I love classic video games. When I was a kid, Atari made the best games, but hard
Tax fraud doesn’t just steal money from taxpayers, it can strip people of their livelihoods and reputations. When a manager in a tax agency’s property tax division stole nearly $50M in property tax refunds, the media and external auditors asked: “How did no one notice this?” The woman started small,
With tax week quickly approaching, tax agencies have been issuing press releases alerting the public they’re holding tax refunds for review longer than in years past. This is a departure for tax agencies. Tax agencies have traditionally lived and died by refund cycle time. Refund cycle time, or getting refunds
Identity quizzes are a hot topic among fraud fighters, and particularly so among tax administrators. A quick web search finds that a lot of state tax agencies use quizzes to fight refund fraud, including Indiana, Louisiana, and Ohio. Even the IRS has gotten into the game. In reading the press
Tax fraud…5-7 years in prison. I thought I had it all figured out. The government wades through millions of returns and tries to issue refunds quickly. Sure, I filed over a thousand for my clients, but that’s just a blip on their radar. I never thought I’d get caught. But
Judging by the spike in media coverage of tax fraud, one might think accountants have suddenly been inspired by Breaking Bad re-runs, and turned en masse to lives of crime. Umm… no. But, there are two good reasons for all the attention. One reason is because of a new law
According to a 2012 report, it was estimated that over the next five years the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will issue more than $20 billion in potentially fraudulent tax refunds. Figures like this do little to boost taxpayers’ confidence in our nation’s tax system. And tax fraud is not
Is fraud like a snowflake, and every one is unique? Not really. There is, however, an increasing number of methods and schemes that show up and expand the range of issues we need to look for every day. To celebrate International Fraud Awareness Week this year, I'm going to spend
Sometimes, it is good to start with a confession. I filed my taxes at the last minute. It was past time to get some money back from the IRS before they could waste $60,000 on another Star Trek spoof video. Normally I'm one of those people that files in February,
Watching our nation approach the "fiscal cliff", and the dire predictions if we truly drive off it like the last scene in Thelma and Louise, has sharpened my view of the potential risks that huge gaps of fraud and abuse present to all of us. One of the key lessons
Several weeks ago, South Carolina was the victim of what some experts believe to be the largest cyber-attack against a state tax department in history. Approximately 3.6 million personal South Carolina income tax returns were exposed, and nearly 657,000 businesses compromised, in an international hacking attack. Coincidentally, SAS and the SC
