IRS Launches Last-Minute Audits Aimed at Puerto Rico Tax Abuses

The IRS is committing more resources to audits of wealthy Americans sheltering billions of dollars in Puerto Rico amid greater congressional scrutiny of the agency’s enforcement activities, following a whistleblower letter that accused the agency of allowing “tax evasion of epic proportions.”

The audit plan is designed to provide senior revenue officials with a feasible tax enforcement narrative ahead of planned meetings with investigators from the Senate Finance Committee and inquiries from members of Congress, an IRS official with direct knowledge of the decision told Bloomberg Tax.

The agency, the official said, plans to deploy a team of additional agents ...