Joseph Perry, Firmwide Partner-in-Charge, Tax & Business Services, Quoted in Associated Press Article, "Chance of Getting Audited by IRS Lowest in Years."
Associated Press
By Stephen Ohlemacher
Excerpt:
As millions of Americans race to meet Tuesday’s tax deadline, their chances of getting audited are lower than they have been in years.
Budget cuts and new responsibilities are straining the Internal Revenue Service’s ability to police tax returns. This year, the IRS will have fewer agents auditing returns than at any time since at least the 1980s.
Taxpayer services are suffering, too, with millions of phone calls to the IRS going unanswered.
One flag for the IRS is when your deductions or expenses don’t match your income, said Joseph Perry, the partner in charge of tax and business services at Marcum LLP, an accounting firm. For example, if you deduct $70,000 in real estate taxes and mortgage interest, but only report $100,000 in income.
“That would at least beg the question, how are you living?” Perry said.
