Bob Kerrey: “In fact, the 3 days of hearings that the Senate Finance Committee held under the leadership of Chairman Roth clearly…”

“In fact, the 3 days of hearings that the Senate Finance Committee held under the leadership of Chairman Roth clearly exposed incidents out there in violation of the law where audits are done, where collection efforts are made based on quotas, based upon goals to try to go out and get individuals, regardless of whether or not there was additional tax actually being owed. In addition, I would say to my friend from Nevada, the current law allows the IRS to keep confidential and private all audit criteria. Citizens may be surprised to know this, but if you ask the IRS today, ``What are your audit criteria? On what basis do you evaluate the taxpayers of Iowa or Delaware or Nebraska or Vermont or Mississippi? How do you evaluate your audits? How do you decide on what basis you are going to proceed on an audit?'' the IRS will say to you, ``You don't have a right to know. We won't disclose that information.'' The only available information has been obtained through a woman at the University of Syracuse through a Freedom of Information Act request for that information. If you look at audit data she has collected, you see broad variations, broad variations from State to State. In one State there will be very high percentages of audits; in another, very low percentages of audits. It is very inconsistent and subjective. Under this law, the audit standards and the criteria for audit would have to be made public.”