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IRS Budget Cuts: Fewer Funds Lead to Fewer Audits
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If you’re scared of an audit by the IRS, there’s less to fear these days. New data show that budget cuts at the IRS mean the agency is investigating fewer wealthy taxpayers.
An average taxpayer’s chance of being audited has tumbled 23 percent in three years, in line with an IRS budget that’s dropped an inflation-adjusted 17 percent since 2010. Only 0.9 percent of individual taxpayers were audited last year, the lowest proportion in seven years.