Fw: IR-2003-111 -- IRS and States Announce Partnership

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I would have assumed that this was always the case.  david ingram 
IR-2003-111, Sept. 16, 2003
IRS and States Announce Partnership to Target Abusive Tax Avoidance
Transactions
WASHINGTON - Internal Revenue Service and state tax officials today
announced the establishment of a new nationwide partnership to combat
abusive tax avoidance. Under agreements with individual states, the IRS
will share information on abusive tax avoidance transactions and those
taxpayers who participate in them.
The agreements creating this partnership are designed to enable both state
and federal governments to move more aggressively in the fight to ensure
all taxpayers pay their fair share. Forty states and the District of
Columbia join the IRS today in announcing the signing of agreements.
"This agreement marks a milestone in state and federal cooperation," said
IRS Commissioner Mark W. Everson. "From today forward, we will work
together combating abusive tax schemes. We will share information and
coordinate case management. This agreement effectively extends the
resources of the IRS and the states."
Under the partnership, the IRS will exchange information about abusive tax
avoidance transaction leads with participating states.  This will allow
the IRS and state agencies to avoid duplication and to piggyback on the
results of each other's work.  The states and the IRS will then share
information on any resulting tax adjustments, reducing the need for
duplicating lengthy taxpayer examinations by both a state and the IRS.
Representatives from California, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New
Jersey, New York, Virginia and the District of Columbia joined with
Everson for today's announcement of the historic initiative.
"The states and the IRS share a common goal to dry up abusive schemes,"
said Stephen M. Cordi, President of the Federation of Tax Administrators
and deputy comptroller of Maryland.  "This new partnership will strengthen
overall tax administration at the federal and state levels and present a
united compliance front against those taxpayers tempted by improper
avoidance transactions." The Federation of Tax Administrators (FTA)
represents all state tax agencies in the 50 states, the District of
Columbia and New York City.
The additional 33 states announcing the signing of the partnership
agreement include:  Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Georgia,
Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky,
Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, New Mexico,
North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode
Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, West
Virginia and Wisconsin.  More states are expected to sign the agreement in
the weeks ahead.
The Abusive Tax Avoidance Transactions (ATAT) memorandum of understanding
between individual states and the IRS was a joint effort, negotiated over
the past year, by representatives of the IRS Small Business/Self-Employed
(SB/SE) Division, FTA and several state tax agencies.
SB/SE Commissioner Dale F. Hart stated at today's event, "This agreement
is a testament to the positive impact that partnering can have on good tax
administration.  It's a smart, common-sense approach and the latest in the
government's ongoing efforts to ensure the fairness of the American tax
system."
The ATAT memorandum of understanding focuses solely on abusive tax
avoidance transactions.  The agreement leaves procedures governing
communication on more routine taxpayer compliance efforts unchanged.  This
maintains the important separation of federal and state tax authority and
protection of taxpayer privacy.
"We treat taxpayer privacy as a top priority," said Everson.  "This
agreement does not impede our high standards for protecting taxpayer
rights or privacy.  The information shared under this agreement will be
strictly limited to that pertaining to abusive transactions."
In addition to greater cooperation in sharing leads in the area of abusive
tax transactions, the partnership with the states includes joint outreach
activities to the public to more effectively counter the claims of those
marketing tax schemes and scams.
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