Menu Search Account

LegiStorm

Get LegiStorm App Visit Product Demo Website
» Get LegiStorm App
» Get LegiStorm Pro Free Demo

IRS Records: Inconsistencies Between Statutes Affect Records Appraisal

  Premium   Download PDF Now (24 pages)
Report Type Reports and Testimonies
Report Date Oct. 2, 1997
Report No. GGD-98-4
Subject
Summary:

At any given time, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) maintains millions of cubic feet of federal records, including documentation of agency policies and decisions, agency operations, and individual and corporate tax returns. IRS records containing tax returns and return information are protected from disclosure to unauthorized persons by 26 U.S.C. 6103 of the Internal Revenue Code. This report was prompted by long-standing issues surrounding the National Archives and Records Administration's access to IRS records for appraisal purposes, the former IRS historian's allegations about the agency's records management program, and a 1995 National Archives and Records Administration evaluation of IRS' records management program. GAO (1) determines how IRS applies the restrictions of section 6103 in reviewing and inventorying its records and (2) evaluates how IRS carries out its records management responsibilities.

« Return to search Government Accountability Office reports