IRS data collection: An introduction to the Data Book
The Internal Revenue Service has many ways of collecting data from U.S. citizens. One primary purpose is to collect tax revenue from individuals and corporations. Another benefit from data collection, however, is the ability to detect and deter criminal financial activities including fraud, identity theft and money laundering, just to name a few crimes.
Through its revenue collection efforts, the IRS gathers financial information on U.S. citizens. The IRS collects this data both by working with various financial institutions and through the taxes American citizens file once a year. The IRS collects trillions per year in revenue from taxpayers in the U.S.
On a yearly basis, the IRS also publishes a Data Book, which contains statistical tables and organizational information. This provides data on enforcing the law, collecting revenue and more. This Data Book can be found for free on the IRS website. In addition to the data book, tax statistics, statistics of income, the IRS operations and budget and other tax-related information are also freely provided on their website.
College students who use FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) also have the option of using the "IRS Data Retrieval Tool." This allows students who have already filed their tax returns to pre-fill the answers to some of the questions on their FAFSA, transferring the data from the returns automatically.
Contact The Plexus Groupe LLC today at plexusgroupe.com to learn more about IRS data collection, as well as other compliance issues. Plexus can also be reached at 847-307-6100 (Chicago), 972-770-5010 (Dallas) and 405-241-9462 (Oklahoma City).
References
Internal Revenue Service, SOI Tax Stats -- IRS Data Book:
http://www.irs.gov/uac/SOI-Tax-Stats-IRS-Data-Book
Internal Revenue Service, IRS Tax Statistics: