US IRS – where 1% makes a BIG difference

John Oliver normally fights for the under-dog. But today he gives us a fascinating – and funny – insight into the lives of those who work at the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The article has some fascinating stats:

• you could wait all day outside an IRS office to talk to someone IRS, because there are so few staff working
• 4 in 10 get through on the phone, with 5 million having “courtesy disconnects” i.e. you get cut off
• 579 tax changes were made last year
• there was a 20% reduction in operating budget last year and 13,000 people left
• only 1% of workforce are under the age of 25
• IT technology is outdated – 50% of tax data is on magnetic tape system
• $1 spent on tax enforcement collects $6

But the most staggering number is the IRS collects $3 trillion annually.

If there is a 1% drop in compliance that is $30 BILLION.