Every hard working American knows that the Internal Revenue Service exists. More popularly known as the IRS, the agency is responsible for holding up the Internal Revenue Code, and the statutory tax law of the United States. Often feared and painted in an unfavorable light, the IRS is very strict, and more often than not, uncompromising. Below are some facts about the IRS:
- Around a total of 4 billion hours are used up by American taxpayers when doing their taxes. Yes, it is a huge number, but it is necessary for complete compliance.
- Around $90 to $100 billion is the total amount that taxpayers spend yearly in compliance with the Federal Tax Code.
- The general view is that the IRS is nothing more than a tax-collecting body. The IRS doesn’t just collect taxes. It also provides very important public services such as the investigation and prevention of identity theft and fraud. In fact, the IRS has been hiring more and more people to the department dedicated to such service.
- To put things in perspective, in 1960, the IRS collected almost $92 billion in taxes. In 2008, the IRS recorded the highest tax revenue in history -- $2.7 trillion.
- There are approximately 1.5 million organizations in the United States that are officially exempted from paying taxes. Around two-thirds of these are religious and charitable organizations, while the rest include social welfare, business leagues, labor, and agriculture.