Is the IRS’s ‘wealth squad’ working?

While the US 'weatlh squad' refuses to report how much money it has brought in, the UK equivalent has announced it netted £162m in 2010-11

The IRS has garnered a lot of headlines with its crackdown on the wealthy. The Global High Wealth Industry Group, formed in 2009 and also known as “The Wealth Squad,” has a team of agents specially trained in the dark arts of tax evasion by the rich.

They have helped the IRS ramp up audits of the rich. According to the agency, audit rates among taxpayers who reported $10m or more in income in 2010 jumped to 18% from 10% in 2009. Among taxpayers who reported $5m to $10m in income, nearly 12% were audited, compared with 6% in 2008.

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