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A recent study by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), a data collection and research organization at Syracuse University, showed that the number of criminal prosecutions referred by the IRS to the Justice Department has skyrocketed under the Obama administration.
Between Fiscal Year (FY) 2009 and FY 2013, the IRS has averaged approximately 3,500 criminal referrals a year, a staggering 38.4% increase from the years in which George W. Bush inhabited the White House. In addition, a total of 2,010 new IRS cases were prosecuted in FY 2013, or 30.6% more than the previous year. This is the highest figure on record since 1997. The average annual number of IRS criminal prosecutions since FY 2009 is about 20% higher than it was during the two terms that Bush was in office.
And there’s even more for law-and-order proponents to cheer about in the TRAC report: Convictions for tax crimes during the Obama administration are averaging prison terms of 27 months – two months longer than the average sentence of 25 months for the Bush years.
The TRAC report revealed that the most common charges are tax perjury and tax evasion. It cited theft of government money – such as fraudulently cashing a refund check -- as a federal tax crime that prosecutors are increasingly zeroing in on.
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