2024 May New York Virtual Event

Please join the New York State Co-Chairs, Vince Chang and Adrienne Koch for a virtual presentation by ABF Research Professor, Jacob Goldin.

Complimentary Zoom Event, register to receive Zoom link.

12:30-1:30 PM ET

“Measuring and Mitigating Racial Disparities in Tax Audits”

Government agencies around the world use data-driven algorithms to allocate enforcement resources. Even when such algorithms are formally neutral with respect to protected characteristics like race, there is widespread concern that they can disproportionately burden vulnerable groups. Professor Goldin will discuss research studying differences in Internal Revenue Service audit rates between Black and non-Black taxpayers, which finds that despite race-blind audit selection, Black taxpayers are audited at 2.9 to 4.7 times the rate of non-Black taxpayers. This research highlights how tax administration interacts with social and demographic patterns to shape the distribution of income tax benefits and burdens.