THE
United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) believes that its
recommendations resulting in improved tax compliance have helped the
Government generate estimated $ 1.3 billion revenue.
Comptroller
General of the United States Gene L. Dodaro disclosed this in a
testimony on its Fiscal Year 2015 Budget Request before the Subcommittee
on Legislative Branch, Committee on Appropriations, U.S. House of
Representatives.
According to the Testimony report dated 5 March 2014, “Our
recommendations on the use of information reporting to reduce the tax
gap contributed to legislation requiring banks and others to report
income that merchants receive through credit cards, third-party
networks, and other means to help IRS (Internal Revenue Service) verify
information reported on merchants' income tax returns. The estimated
increased revenue through improved tax compliance is expected over the
provision's first 3 fiscal years.”
The
report has listed several other financial benefits accruing from
Congressional action or agency implementation of GAO's recommendations
and findings.
GAO
believes it remains one of the best investments in the federal
government, and its dedicated staff continues to deliver high quality
results. In FY 2013 alone, GAO provided services that spanned the broad
range of federal programs and activities. We received requests for our
work from 95 percent of the standing committees of Congress and almost
two-thirds of their subcommittees. We reviewed a wide range of
government programs and operations including those that are at high risk
for fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement. GAO also reviewed agencies'
budgets as requested to help support congressional decision-making.
As
put by the Report, “Last year, our work yielded significant results
across the government, including $51.5 billion in financial benefits-a
return of about $100 for every dollar invested in GAO. Also, in FY 2013,
we issued 709 reports and made 1,430 new recommendations. The findings
of our work were often cited in House and Senate deliberations and
committee reports to support congressional action, including improving
federal programs on our High Risk list; addressing overlap, duplication,
and fragmentation; and assessing defense, border security and
immigration issues. Our findings also supported the Bipartisan Budget
Act of 2013, in areas such as aviation security fees, unemployment
insurance, improper payments to inmates, the strategic petroleum
reserve, and the contractor compensation cap.”
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