October 13,2009

Press Contact:

Jill Kozeny, 202/224-1308

Jill Gerber, 202/224-6522

Grassley: IRS Focus on Sole Proprietor Loss Deductions is Too Broad, Wastes Time, Money of Law-abiding Taxpayers

Sen. Chuck Grassley, ranking member of the Committee on Finance, today made the following comment on a report from the Government Accountability Office, GAO- 09-815, Tax Gap: Limiting Sole Proprietor Loss Deductions Could Improve Compliance but Would Also Limit Some Legitimate Losses. The report is available at http://www.gao.gov/Products/GAO-09-815

“As the IRS and GAO have documented, there are problems of noncompliance among sole proprietors, yet the IRS is directing its enforcement at bad actors and good actors alike. The IRS needs to do a better job of using its resources so innocent people aren't having their time and money taken up by IRS audits when they should be running their businesses and helping the economy. Small businesses create the majority of new jobs.”

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