AALS Discussion Group

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Discussion Groups provide an in-depth discussion of a topic by a small group of invited discussants selected in advance by the Annual Meeting Program Committee. In addition to the invited discussants, additional discussants were selected through a Call for Participation. There will be limited seating for audience members to observe the discussion groups on a first-come, first-served basis.

In the United States, the agency responsible for helping taxpayers voluntarily comply with federal tax laws and for coercing the recalcitrant into complying—the Internal Revenue Service (IRS)—is not only underfunded, its image was badly damaged by what the media often refer to as the “IRS targeting scandal.” The IRS is thus in crisis. Over the last couple of years, it has reduced service to taxpayers, reduced enforcement efforts, experienced hacks of its confidential taxpayer information, and sent out billions of dollars in fraudulent refunds claimed by identity thieves. Other tax collection agencies, both in U.S. and abroad, also struggle with resource and cybersecurity issues.