Dec 16, 2024
IRS criminal referrals to US prosecutors hit a 40-year low in 2024
New data shows agents sent fewer cases for prosecution, compounding concerns the tax agency is taking an overly soft stance toward the wealthiest taxpayers.
IRS
Oct 02, 2024
After a Deloitte client’s $2.4B tax dodge faltered, the accounting giant won’t say if it helped others exploit the same loophole
ICIJ reviewed hundreds of pages of court records to examine the Big Four firm's role in a controversial tax maneuver, which one expert labeled "easily replicable."
Aug 29, 2024
Under industry pressure, IRS division blocked agents from using new law to stop wealthy tax dodgers
High-powered tax attorneys bemoaned the 2010 legislation meant to crack down on big-dollar tax shelters. They ended up writing parts of an IRS directive that essentially undid it.
Jul 16, 2024
IRS crackdown on millionaire tax dodgers yields $1 billion, Treasury says
The tax agency, once beleaguered by budget cuts, has sought to use an influx of funding under the Biden administration to boost enforcement of tax laws on the rich and large corporations.
Jun 25, 2024
IRS plans to shut tax loophole for the ultrawealthy, raise more than $50 billion
New rules will target a long-time tactic used by sprawling corporate structures to dodge taxes in a way the U.S. Treasury now says is illegal.
Jun 11, 2024
How the IRS went soft on billionaires and corporate tax cheats
Newly obtained data shows the IRS division that audits corporations and the ultrarich flagged no more than 22 possible tax crimes over the past five years — roughly 40 times fewer criminal referrals than from the unit covering small businesses.
Apr 03, 2024
How investment firms shield the ultrawealthy from the IRS
An ICIJ investigation examining hundreds of leaked tax forms offers a glimpse into the huge challenges the U.S. agency faces in tackling the favorite new global investment vehicles of the world's most wealthy.
Mar 19, 2024
New data shows IRS’s 10-year struggle to investigate tax crimes
The number of cases the wider U.S. tax agency refers to its criminal unit has plummeted.
Feb 21, 2024
Inside the IRS unit taking on America’s millionaires and billionaires
The U.S. Internal Revenue Service is seeking to use an infusion of funding to keep up with the ever-evolving tax maneuvers of the ultra-rich — while staving off frequent political attacks.
Sep 13, 2023
IRS investigating sanctioned Russian oligarchs’ use of South Dakota trusts, agent says
The agency has dedicated a team to uncovering oligarchs’ assets stashed in South Dakota’s secretive trusts, which ICIJ’s Pandora Papers revealed are popular with bad actors seeking to anonymously hide wealth.
Sep 21, 2020
First US taxpayer sentenced to prison for crimes revealed by Panama Papers
Harald Joachim von der Goltz was sentenced to four years for wire and tax fraud, money laundering, false statements and other charges.
Jul 16, 2018
IRS spent $380m but took ‘limited or no action’ on offshore tax dodges
The U.S. government took "limited or no action" to battle secret offshore holdings, despite spending $380 million on a new initiative.