Economy

IRS Audits Target the Wealth-Depleted Southern Black Belt

The racially discriminatory IRS audits revealed in a new report are yet another way of depleting and plundering the wealth of southern black families.

Farmer John Boyd drives his tractor "Justice" near the the Capitol building in Washington, D.C. and calls on lawmakers to pass a bill to address injustices to black farmers.Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP

Provide news feedback or report an error

Confidential tip?

Send a tip to our reporters

Site feedback:

Take our Survey

By Brentin Mock

April 3, 2019 at 2:21 PM UTC

In Baker County, Georgia, a small county in the southern Black Belt, there were 9.2 people audited by the IRS for every 1,000 tax filings between 2012 and 2015—a pretty high rate considering there are roughly only about 3,200 people in the county.

The national audit rate for that time period is 7.7 audits per 1,000 filings. Baker County’s audit rate is well above the 6.4 per 1000 in Washington County, Wisconsin, or the 6.6 audit rate in Sherburne County, Minnesota. The differences between these counties are quite stark: Washington and Sherburne counties have median household incomes of $73,021 and $83,895 respectively compared to Baker’s $43,867. And while roughly half of Baker County’s population is African American, Washington and Sherburne counties both have white populations in the 95 percent range.