IRS Hiring Binge Not Enough to Stop Tax Cheats, Audit Says

With 1,515 new employees, the Internal Revenue Service still doesn’t have the staff needed to collect the nation’s taxes, according to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.

In a report released today, the inspector general said attrition and a heightened workload have combined to leave the IRS understaffed. The new hires in the agency’s small-business and self-employed division resulted in a net gain of just 580 revenue officers by the end of fiscal 2010, according to the report. The IRS watchdog predicted a net gain of 127 revenue officers by the end of fiscal 2012.