IRS Goes After Wealthy Cheaters

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Those who had high incomes were were 40% more likely to be audited in fiscal year 2004 than in the previous year according to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

The total number of audits on individual taxpayers surpassed 1 million for the first time since 1999. Even so, the chances of actually being audited were minuscule. Less than 1 in 100 of all taxpayers were audited in fiscal 2004. The audit rate rose to 1.47% for taxpayers with incomes of $100,000 or more.

The IRS reported its enforcement efforts through audits generated an increase of $5.5 billion from 2003 to a record $43.1 billion this year.