This report contains selected papers given at the 2006 annual meetings of the American Statistical Association and other professional conferences. The views expressed here are those of the authors and are not necessarily the official positions of the Internal Revenue Service. These reports are available in Adobe PDF format. A free Adobe Acrobat® reader is available for download, if needed. Some articles include Microsoft Excel tables. A free Excel viewer is available for download, if needed. Citations are included in the papers. For more information about a paper, please send us an email message. Consolidated documents: All Papers PDF Preface PDF Selected papers Analysis of the Distributions of Income, Taxes, and Payroll Taxes via Cross-Section and Panel Data, 1979–2004 PDF - Michael Strudler, Tom Petska, Lori Hentz, and Ryan Petska This paper is the seventh in a series examining trends in the distribution of individual incomes and tax burdens based on a consistent and comprehensive measure of income derived from individual income tax returns. Related Tables XLS (Excel) Social Security Taxes, Social Security Benefits, and Social Security Benefits Taxation, 2003 PDF - Peter Sailer, Kevin Pierce, and Evgenia Lomize In this paper, the authors make a modest proposal for another set of statistics that could be produced from the IRMF which would shed light not only on the operation of the individual income tax and the Social Security tax systems, but also on the interaction of the two systems. The paper illustrates some of the analysis that could be produced with this file. The Tax Year 1999–2003 Individual Income Tax Return Panel: A First Look at the Data PDF - Michael E. Weber This paper represents the Statistics of Income (SOI) Division’s first release of data from its Tax Year 1999 Panel of Individual Income Tax Returns. A previous ASA paper explained the history and development of this panel so that only a brief review of the panel’s history and design will be provided in this paper. Related Tables (Excel): 1 XLS, 2 XLS, 3 XLS, 4 XLS, 5 XLS Creativity and Compromise: Constructing a Panel of Income and Estate Tax Data for Wealthy Individuals PDF - Barry W. Johnson and Lisa M. Schreiber The Statistics of Income Division (SOI) of the IRS collects statistical data from all major Federal tax and information returns that are used by both the Congressional and Executive branches of the Government to evaluate and develop tax and economic policy. Among these are annual studies of Form 1040, U.S. Individual Income Tax Return, and Form 706, United States Estate (and Generation-Skipping Transfer) Tax Return. Monitoring Statistics of Income (SOI) Samples PDF - Joseph Koshansky This paper is a case study of the infrastructure SOI developed to monitor its samples and deal with unexpected events in a bureaucratic setting. It focuses on what happens after the SOI sampling programs select returns for a project (or study). In addition, it provides an account of the SOI efforts to improve the monitoring of its samples of Federal tax and information returns, part of a “Golden Age” in SOI history. Customer Satisfaction Initiatives at IRS’s Statistics of Income: Using Surveys To Improve Customer Service PDF - Ruth Schwartz and Beth Kilss This paper will focus on three aspects of these surveys: the process by which we surveyed our customers, the findings from the surveys, and the steps we are taking to use the results to further improve our products and services. Performance Measurement within the Statistics of Income Division PDF - Kevin Cecco Developing performance measures continues to play an important role for many of the Federal statistical agencies. Federal statistical agencies produce critical data to inform public and private decisionmakers about a range of topics of interest, including the economy, the population, and other pertinent statistics. Tying Web Site Performance to Mission Achievement in the Federal Government PDF - Diane M. Milleville While agencies have been utilizing the Web to disseminate information for years, little, in comparison, has been done to understand and evaluate how effective these Web sites are when it comes to agency mission achievement. However, with the costs associated with Federal Web sites, it is imperative that each agency ensure that its Web site makes a meaningful contribution toward achieving its mission. Comparing Strategies To Estimate a Measure of Heteroscedasticity PDF - Kimberly Henry and Richard Valliant This paper is organized into six sections. After the introduction, the second section contains descriptions of our superpopulation model and generated populations. The third section includes our simulation setup details, while results are discussed in the fourth section. Conclusions, limitations, and future considerations are in the fifth section and references in the sixth section. Factors in Estates’ Utilization of Special Tax Provisions for Family-Owned Farms and Closely Held Businesses PDF - Martha Eller Gangi, Kimberly Henry, and Brian G. Raub In this paper, we present a brief description of Federal estate tax law in effect for the estates of 2001 decedents, as well as an examination of the three business provisions available to these estates. In addition, we presents logistic regression models that examine the relationship between usage of one business provision and other estate characteristics. We also discuss the potential for future research. Corporation Life Cycles: Examining Attrition Trends and Return Characteristics in Statistics of Income Cross-Sectional 1120 Samples PDF - Matthew L. Scoffic This paper examines the extent to which business entities in the SOI sample survive, perish, or appear inconsistently, and to what extent returns from these three categories differ in certain financial characteristics. Standing Out in a Crowd: Improving Customer Utility on a Centrally Administered, Shared Web Site PDF - Barry W. Johnson This paper will focus on SOI’s efforts to improve the TaxStats pages on irs.gov. It will discuss recent redesign efforts and share future plans, all in the context of working within the design limits imposed by a multiuse Web site. The goal is to provide guidance and encouragement for other statistical organizations in similar situations. An Analysis of the Free File Program PDF - Michelle S. Chu and Melissa M. Kovalick The Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998 (RRA 1998) stated that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) should set goals to have at least 80 percent of all Federal tax and information returns filed electronically by 2007. There are many benefits of electronically filing tax returns; tax law compliance is improved, the IRS reduces operating costs by reducing the need for human inputs to transcribe data, and transcription errors are eliminated. Index Of IRS Methodology Reports On Statistical Uses Of Administrative Records PDF Index of years 2003 PDF 2004 2005
