• The Internal Revenue Service is the United States agency responsible for collecting taxes.

• 1. Formerly called the Bureau of Internal Revenue http://www.rdtc.com/Blog/archive/2008/01/09/15-interesting-facts-about-the-irs.aspx
  2. A division of the U.S. Department of the Treasury
  3. Commissioner: Douglas Shulman
  4. Headquarters: Washington, DC
  5. Publishes the Internal Revenue Bulletin http://www.rdtc.com/Blog/archive/2008/01/09/15-interesting-facts-about-the-irs.aspx
  6. Created by Abraham Lincoln during Civil War to help pay military expenses http://www.rdtc.com/Blog/archive/2008/01/09/15-interesting-facts-about-the-irs.aspx
  7. 229 million income tax returns were filed with the IRS in 2006 http://www.rdtc.com/Blog/archive/2008/01/09/15-interesting-facts-about-the-irs.aspx
  8. federal government spends $200 billion per year on federal tax compliance, which is more money than it takes to produce every vehicle in the United States http://www.rdtc.com/Blog/archive/2008/01/09/15-interesting-facts-about-the-irs.aspx

• Divisions

  1. Large and Mid-Size Business
  2. Small Business/Self-Employed
  3. Wage and Investment
  4. Tax Exempt and Government Entities
  5. Criminal Law Enforcement

• Timeline

  1. 1862: Abraham Lincoln creates tax to fund Civil War; establishes Bureau of Internal Revenue
  2. 1913: 16th Amendment makes income tax constitutional
  3. 1953: Name officially changed to Internal Revenue Service
  4. 1950s: Switches to employee system instead of patronage
  5. 1998: Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform Act passed by Congress splits IRS into new divisions
  6. 2006: IRS headquarters closes for several months due to flooding

• Dealing with Losses

  On March 17, 2009, IRS commisioner Douglas Shulman announced that investors who had lost money from the fraudelent schemes of Bernard Madoff and Robert Allen Stanford would be allowed to list their losses as theft losses on their tax returns. Theft loss deductions are likely to earn larger deductions for investment victims compared capital losses deductions.Bloomberg: IRS Says Madoff Victims Can Claim Theft Losses

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