Most of the $4.1 million spent on a lavish IRS training conference in Anaheim, California in 2010 was paid for with soon to lapse hiring funds for enforcement employees, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration has said.
In just the latest embarrassing controversy for the embattled agency, the IG questioned spending on planning trips, outside speakers, video productions, and promotional items and gifts for IRS employees, which included a professionally produced Start Trek spoof video with a tax story-line.
The August 2010 Small Business and Self-Employed Division’s management conference was the most expensive one among 225 others in fiscal 2010-2012.
TIGTA faulted management for failing to find a less expensive location, deferring to outside event planners with no incentive to keep costs low, failing to ask for reduced room rates and instead taking the hotel up on an offer for low value perks, and for blowing $135,350 on presenters. The agency also spent $35,800 on planning trips prior to the conference.
The agency continues to crack down on conference spending however. TIGTA acknowledged that the IRS in February 2011 began changing policy guidance for conferences and has been reducing conferencing spending and working to increase accountability and transparency. And it noted that the IRS has reduced conference spending from about $37.5 million in fiscal 2010 to $4.8 million in fiscal 2012.
