IRS launched fewer criminal investigations in 2014

The Internal Revenue Service launched 4,297 criminal investigations last year, down from 5,314 during the previous fiscal year, a report from the agency’s criminal investigation division found. The IRS recommended 3,478 prosecutions, a 20% drop from the previous year. The agency has been squeezed by budget cuts, and Richard Weber, head of the division, said his group is at a staffing level last seen in the 1970s.