IRS and the Small Business Owner
Please read a very interesting (read: alarming!) article, recently published by the Wall Street Journal regarding the IRS and its intention to require small business owners to hand over their entire Quickbooks accounting “meta” data during the auditing process. The purported reason is to close the “tax gap,” that is, the difference between what the US government thinks it’s owed and what it’s paid. According to the article, there is a fear that the IRS may go on fishing expeditions, because its access to sensitive information, oftentimes completely unrelated to the accounting of the business. With the increase in enforcement, small business owners who are being audited should therefore consult not only their accountant but also a qualified tax attorney, who has experience in dealing with the IRS during the audit process.