IRS acts to address wide disparity in audit rates between Black taxpayers and other filers

By FATIMA HUSSEIN
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The IRS says it’s taken steps to address a wide disparity in audit rates between Black taxpayers and others filers. And the agency is more closely examining the returns of larger numbers of wealthy people and major companies. The IRS says in an annual report that it’s overhauling compliance efforts as it strives to “hold ourselves accountable to taxpayers we serve.” A 2023 study involving university researchers and the Treasury Department found that IRS data-driven algorithms selected Black taxpayers for auditing at up to 4.7 times the rate of non-Black taxpayers. Commissioner Daniel Werfel says discriminatory audits “degrade trust in our tax system.”