Tax Shelters and Underpaid Taxes by Government Contractors

Tax Analysts (http://www.taxanalysts.com/) has two stories of interest today. Tax Division Assistant Attorney General Eileen O'Connor asserted at an AICPA meeting in San Francisco that the U.S. Government has done "very well" in obtaining information about abusive tax shelters, in spite of occasional court setbacks. Additionally, a GAO report to the Senate indicated that federal contractors had underpaid various federal taxes to the tune of $3.3 billion. Key Senators Norm Coleman (R-MN) and Carl Levin (D-MI) wanted to put additional pressure on delinquent contractors, but were told by IRS Commissioner Mark Everson that some GAO-proposed procedures would violate taxpayer rights.