IRS Audits Made Easier

The Internal Revenue Service wants to ease the pain of audits for its taxpayers who fall into the Large and Mid-Size Business Division. The agency this week launched a streamlined examination process that promises to focus on the issues most pertinent to the questioned returns.

As part of the program, the IRS and the taxpayer will agree upon and sign a formal "memorandum of understanding" that will lay out the parameters of dollar-limits below which the IRS will agree not to raise issues and the taxpayer will agree not to file claims.

The "Limited Issue Focused Examination" initiative was nicknamed "LIFE," and will only be able to stay alive if both taxpayers and the IRS work cooperatively, according to LMSB Commissioner Larry Langdon.

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