comment: >
  
  What the I.R.S. chooses to focus on when it conducts audits can either undercut or complement our progressive tax system,
context: The findings do not suggest bias from individual tax enforcement agents, who do not know the race of the people they are auditing. They also do not suggest any valid reason for the I.R.S. to target Black Americans at such high rates; there is no evidence that group engages in more tax evasion than others.
  Instead, the findings document discrimination in the computer algorithms the agency uses to determine who is selected for an audit, according to the study by economists from Stanford University, the University of Michigan, the University of Chicago and the Treasury Department. >
  
  So, if the algorithm doesn't know the race of the filer... what's causing it to trigger on AA/Black population more than others?
  Sorry not assuming you know, just wanted somewhere to put the thought. >
  
  I'd guess since it's an established fact that the IRS audits lower economic classes for auditing because they don't have to contend with opposing lawyers or otherwise sophisticated targets, and black people are disproportionately in the lower economic class, it's an unintended consequence of IRS practices. >
  
  Ah, that makes more sense. >
  
  And wonder why the white dominated republican party is so scared of a more funded IRS? As usual, they are scared of being treated the same way that their entrenched power system treats black people. >
  
  I'm going to say the reasons Republicans want to defund the IRS has absolutely nothing to do with this. 
  But unsurprisingly again, the IRS doesn't care about the rich. Doesn't matter how much money you give them or take away, they'll target the average person who isn't going to pay for lawyers, go into months of litigation, etc. >
  
  
  But unsurprisingly again, the IRS doesn't care about the rich. 
  
  I'm not sure why you are blaming the IRS here.   Republicans have blocked proper funding of the IRS at every turn.   The only method the IRS has left to maintain tax revenue is through targeting the simple tax returns.  Back taxpayers tend to have lower incomes and the errors in their tax returns are easy for algorithms to identify and report.   
  The ability to target rich income tax returns will require more funding.   So ask the Republicans why they keep blocking the IRS from the proper funding do these kinds of complex audits of the rich.
  
  And Black taxpayers appear to disproportionately file returns with the sort of potential errors that are easy for I.R.S. systems to identify, like underreporting certain income or claiming tax credits that the taxpayer does not qualify for, the authors find.
  
  Simplifying the tax code for everyone earning a middle class income or less would also go along ways but that is also blocked by companies like TurboTax ( a company that sees an overly complex tax code as a feature and not a bug).