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THE FEW, THE PROUD... THE RESEARCHED

August 01, 2003

The IRS "National Research Program" (NRP) is well underway, according to the General Accounting Office. The Congressional oversight agency recently reported that the kinder and gentler replacement to the old "Taxpayer Compliance Measurement Program (TCMP)," remembered by many as the "Audits from Hell" program, is proceeding smoothly.

The "research" of the NRP involves more or less detailed examinations of a sample of taxpayer returns to identify where auditors should concentrate their efforts when looking at 1040s. The NRP is supposed to be less intrusive than the old TCMP, and that appears to be so, at least as it relates to the number of returns examined. The program involves only about 47,000 returns from 2001; of these, only about 42,000 will involve detailed examinations. This is only about half of the size of the last planned TCMP, which was cancelled in the face of objections from Congress.

These 47,000 research subjects represent about 4/100 of 1% of the returns filed for 2001. These "lucky" taxpayers can be excused for failing to appreciate the kinder and gentler nature of the NRP. From what we have seen, the difference between the NRP Audits from Heck and the old "Audits from Hell" is about the same as the difference between extracting two and four wisdom teeth without novocaine.

You can view the GAO report here.

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