# IRS Designation
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irs-designation/355390
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [May 4, 2006, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irs-designation/355390 "2006-05-04T14:44:34Z")
**Posts on this page:** 12
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Daithi\_Lacha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daithi_Lacha)
#### Post date: [May 4, 2006, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irs-designation/355390/1 "2006-05-04T14:44:34Z")
Last night at the bar, The Guy That Knows All About What The Government Is _Really_ Up To was saying that the IRS is now part of the Department of Homeland Security. Is that true? Or is it still part of the Department of the Treasury? Or, maybe, is the Treasury now DHS? Offhand, I want to pooh-pooh this, but until I have a clue I don’t want to be considered a kneejerk scoffer.
His point was that there isn’t any such thing as a random audit anymore; all audits are linked to “suspicious activity.” :dubious:
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### Author:  [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)
#### Post date: [May 4, 2006, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irs-designation/355390/2 "2006-05-04T14:58:55Z")
[DHS Organization Chart](http://www.dhs.gov/interweb/assetlibrary/DHS_OrgChart.pdf).
No IRS. No Treasury Dept.
[Treasury Dept. Organization Chart](http://www.treasury.gov/organization/org-chart-122005.pdf).
There’s the IRS.
Both links go to .pdf’s.
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### Author:  [@Daithi\_Lacha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daithi_Lacha)
#### Post date: [May 4, 2006, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irs-designation/355390/3 "2006-05-04T16:43:40Z")
Nice one, **Exapno** , thank you. A departmental flowchart is worth a thousand words.
Now I just have to find the sheet that outlines the departments of the shadowy, sinister government that controls both the TD and DHS – and everything else in the world!
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### Author:  [@UncleBeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBeer)
#### Post date: [May 4, 2006, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irs-designation/355390/4 "2006-05-04T17:20:58Z")
> [@Daithi Lacha](#):
>
> His point was that there isn’t any such thing as a random audit anymore; all audits are linked to “suspicious activity.” :dubious:
Maybe, maybe not. All individual tax returns are run through something the IRS calls “DIF” (Discriminant Index Function) which produces a DIF score. The returns receiving the highest DIF scores, are then selected for audit. However, there is procedure (called National Research Program, or NRP) for oversight and evaluation of the efficacy of DIF which uses a random statistically valid sample of tax returns. About 40,000 returns every year are selected for audit this way.
[DIF Process](http://www.irs.gov/irm/part4/ch01s03.html) and
[IRS internal audit codes](http://www.irs.gov/irm/part4/ch01s03.html#d0e1686) (note that there is no code for a randomly selected return) and
[NRP](http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=105695,00.html).
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### Author:  [@Daithi\_Lacha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daithi_Lacha)
#### Post date: [May 4, 2006, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irs-designation/355390/5 "2006-05-04T20:04:35Z")
> [@UncleBeer](#):
>
> Maybe, maybe not. All individual tax returns are run through something the IRS calls “DIF” (Discriminant Index Function) which produces a DIF score. The returns receiving the highest DIF scores, are then selected for audit. However, there is procedure (called National Research Program, or NRP) for oversight and evaluation of the efficacy of DIF which uses a random statistically valid sample of tax returns. About 40,000 returns every year are selected for audit this way.
That actually makes good sense; they randomly choose to audit those that fit within the parameters of potential cheats. I don’t see it as a case of those under suspicion of terrorism or simply sedition are the _only_ targets for IRS audits.
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### Author:  [@UncleBeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBeer)
#### Post date: [May 4, 2006, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irs-designation/355390/6 "2006-05-04T20:38:26Z")
Exactly. And I rather doubt there’s enough coordination, or cooperation (or even there would be legal grounds for sharing the information necessary) to initiate a tax audit of suspected terrorists. The IRS ain’t a police agency and that kinda info generally is privileged.
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### Author:  [@Daithi\_Lacha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daithi_Lacha)
#### Post date: [May 4, 2006, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irs-designation/355390/7 "2006-05-04T21:08:52Z")
> [@UncleBeer](#):
>
> Exactly. And I rather doubt there’s enough coordination, or cooperation (or even there would be legal grounds for sharing the information necessary) to initiate a tax audit of suspected terrorists. The IRS ain’t a police agency and that kinda info generally is privileged.
Actually, based on the charts that **Exapno** provided, above, the Treasury Department has it’s own bureau for things like that: the Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence. It’s seems like they’re almost a law unto themselves\* sans \* DHS, which is scary enough!
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### Author:  [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)
#### Post date: [May 4, 2006, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irs-designation/355390/8 "2006-05-04T21:48:12Z")
At least this is an understandable mistake.
Both the Secret Service and the Coast Guard were at one time part of the Treasury Department. They were both moved to Homeland Security.
The IRS, however, stayed where it was.
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### Author:  [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)
#### Post date: [May 5, 2006, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irs-designation/355390/9 "2006-05-05T01:50:10Z")
> [@Daithi Lacha](#):
>
> Now I just have to find the sheet that outlines the departments of the shadowy, sinister government that controls both the TD and DHS – and everything else in the world!
That would be FEMA. Currently, in the event of a disaster of biblical proportions (and certain other things happen), FEMA has the ability to take over our government.
The Patriot Act at work.
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### Author:  [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)
#### Post date: [May 5, 2006, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irs-designation/355390/10 "2006-05-05T04:15:24Z")
> [@EJsGirl](#):
>
> That would be FEMA. Currently, in the event of a disaster of biblical proportions (and certain other things happen), FEMA has the ability to take over our government.
Just because you saw it in _The X-Files_ movie doesn’t make it true.
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### Author:  [@Daithi\_Lacha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daithi_Lacha)
#### Post date: [May 5, 2006, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irs-designation/355390/11 "2006-05-05T12:41:12Z")
> [@friedo](#):
>
> Just because you saw it in _The X-Files_ movie doesn’t make it true.
Anyway, I recently heard (on NPR, I believe) that FEMA is going to be dismantled to make way for a new, improved (read: less screwed up) Disaster Preparedness bureau. I can’t remember what it’s to be called, however.
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### Author:  [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)
#### Post date: [May 5, 2006, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irs-designation/355390/12 "2006-05-05T13:19:37Z")
> [@Daithi Lacha](#):
>
> Anyway, I recently heard (on NPR, I believe) that FEMA is going to be dismantled to make way for a new, improved (read: less screwed up) Disaster Preparedness bureau. I can’t remember what it’s to be called, however.
That was the recommendation of a Senate committee investigating Katrina. Doesn’t mean it will actually happen, though. (Or that if it does happen, it will do any good.)