Showing papers by "Internal Revenue Service published in 2004"

Developing adoptable disclosure protection techniques: Lessons learned from a U.S. experience

Abstract: The development of new disclosure protection techniques is useful only insofar as those techniques are adopted by statistical agencies In order for technical experts in disclosure limitation to be successful, they are likely to need to interact with the appropriate statistical offices This paper discusses just such a successful interaction in the United States It describes the foundation that three major US agencies – the Census Bureau, the Social Security Administration, and the Internal Revenue Service – laid in order to develop more useful statistical products These included a proposed synthetic data public-use file based on the confidential microdata from all three agencies Since then other governmental organizations, such as the US Congressional Budget Office, have become involved with this inter-agency effort, which seeks to provide researchers and other users in the broader statistical community with a data utility often possible previously only with access to the confidential microdata The confidentiality implications for all three agencies – and the potential for more – of a successful conclusion to this work would be enormously beneficial to data users, data producers, and data respondents This paper describes the importance of developing the necessary framework, which includes an understanding between statistical office decision makers and the technical experts, before beginning such an endeavor It provides a description of how this effort even became possible, and uses the history of events and related lessons to describe essentials that might be useful for other national statistical offices facing similar constraints and goals

Building great leaders at the IRS

Abstract: Good does not equal great and all organisations need great leaders. Recently, concepts such as analysing successful leaders and building leaders' strengths have generated a lot of enthusiasm in the leadership development community. There is now a better understanding of what differentiates “great” leaders from others, offering new avenues for developing more great leaders. Previous leadership development efforts tended to focus on improving the performance of our worst managers and often delivered mixed results. This study of the 360‐degree assessments of about 1,000 managers reveals that an emphasis on building strengths is as much as eight times more effective than correcting weaknesses and can improve business results as much as 80 percent. The research builds on a very powerful case for managers to improve their overall leadership effectiveness and for the chief financial officer to fully fund the development efforts.

Mapping the US Tax Compliance Continuum

Abstract: Within an economy, tax compliance behavior falls along a continuum. At one extreme are households who fully report and pay their tax obligations despite any opportunities or incentives to cheat (‘easy to tax’). At the other extreme are households who undertake considerable efforts to conceal their income and repudiate their tax responsibilities (‘hard to tax’). Using our micro-simulation database, we develop a preliminary map of where members of 34 distinct occupational groups fall along the US tax compliance continuum.

The Internal Revenue Service’s Mission Assurance Program

Abstract: The Internal Revenue Service (IRS), a branch of the Department of the Treasury, is a large Federal agency with over 100,000 employees and 750 facilities. In 2000, it collected more than $2 trillion in revenue and processed 226 million tax returns. In carrying out its tax administration responsibilities, the IRS is committed to adequately protecting the confidentiality of the taxpayer records that it processes. Taxpayer privacy rights are ensured through the Privacy Act, other federal statutes, the Internal Revenue Code, and other IRS policies and practices. The IRS’ security approach focuses on a mission assurance program that assures the confidentiality of taxpayer records; the safety and health of its employees; and the protection of its tax administration operations, including its systems, facilities and other resources.