Business

Collaboration Between Stanford and the Department of the Treasury: Black Taxpayers Are Targeted for Audit More Than Others

According to Stanford RegLab, Black taxpayers receive IRS audit notices at least 2.9 times more frequently than non-Black taxpayers and possibly as much as 4.7 times more often. The team’s research showed that a set of internal IRS algorithms causes racial differences in audit selection. Goldin compared them to the recipe for Coca-Cola: “It’s completely secret.”

Published

3 years ago

February 25, 2023

Oakland Post

To better understand this audit selection bias, the research team modeled the racial impact that various alternative audit selection policies might have. The result showed how the IRS could change its secret algorithm to make it less unfair to people of different races.

By Stacy M. Brown
NNPA Newswire Senior

According to Stanford RegLab, Black taxpayers receive IRS audit notices at least 2.9 times more frequently than non-Black taxpayers and possibly as much as 4.7 times more often.

The new study included research by Daniel E. Ho, the William Benjamin Scott and Luna M. Scott Professor of Law at Stanford Law School, faculty director of the Stanford RegLab, a senior fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, Hadi Elzayn, a researcher at the Stanford RegLab, Evelyn Smith, Ph.D. candidate at the University of Michigan, and Arun Ramesh, a pre-doctoral fellow at the University of Chicago; Jacob Goldin, a professor of tax law at the University of Chicago; and economists in the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Tax Analysis.

The researchers concluded that the disparity “is unlikely to be intentional on the part of IRS staff.”

The team’s research showed that a set of internal IRS algorithms causes racial differences in audit selection. Goldin compared them to the recipe for Coca-Cola: “It’s completely secret.”

To better understand this audit selection bias, the research team modeled the racial impact that various alternative audit selection policies might have.

The result showed how the IRS could change its secret algorithm to make it less unfair to people of different races.

“The IRS should drill down to understand and modify its existing audit selection methods to mitigate the disparity we’ve documented,” Ho said.

“And we’ve shown they can do that without sacrificing tax revenue.”

Although there have been long-standing questions about whether the IRS uses its audit powers somewhat, Ho said it was challenging to study because tax returns are private.

The IRS’s approach to audit decisions was confidential.

That changed when, on his first day in office, President Joe Biden signed Executive Order 13985. This order requires all federal agencies to examine how their programs affect racial and ethnic equity.

To apply that order to the IRS tax return audit program, economists at the Treasury Department worked with the Stanford RegLab team to analyze more than 148 million tax returns and about 780,000 tax returns for 2014. The RegLab team used anonymous data to do the analysis.

Even with all that information, the research team found that tax returns do not ask for a person’s race or ethnicity.

So, the team adapted and improved on a state-of-the-art approach that uses first names, last names, and geography (U.S. Census block groups) to predict the probability that a person identifies as Black.

And they confirmed their racial identification results using a North Carolina sample of voter registration records. In that state, until recently, when people registered to vote, they had to check a box for race and ethnicity.

After finding that Black taxpayers were 2.9 to 4.7 times more likely to be audited than non-Black taxpayers, the team looked at why this might be the case.

They suspected that the problem lay with an IRS algorithm’s use of the Dependent Database, which flags a potential problem and generates an audit letter to the taxpayer.

That instinct proved correct in that most racial differences were found in so-called “correspondence” audits. These audits are done by mail rather than in person.

The team also found that the IRS audits people more often who claim the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). The EITC helps low- and moderate-income people.

But claiming the EITC only explains a small percentage of the observed racial disparity.

The largest source of disparity occurs among EITC claimants. Indeed, Black taxpayers accounted for 21% of EITC claims but were the focus of 43% of EITC audits.

The racial disparity in audit rates persists regardless of whether EITC claimants are male or female, married or unmarried, raising children, or childless.

But it is most extreme for single male taxpayers claiming dependents (7.73% for Black claimants; 3.46% for non-Black claimants) and for single male taxpayers who did not claim dependents (5.66% for Black; 2% for non-Black).

Perhaps the most striking statistic is this: A single Black man with dependents who claims the EITC is nearly 20 times as likely to be audited as a non-Black jointly filing (married) taxpayer claiming the EITC.

Although the team does not know precisely what algorithm the IRS uses to choose audits, they thought of several possible reasons for high audit rates.

First, they tried an “Oracle” approach. They used a dataset called the National Research Project (NRP).

Because each tax return in this dataset was subjected to a line-by-line audit, the amount of underreported tax liability is known.

So, the researchers looked at what would happen if the IRS selected taxpayers based on the known amount of underreported tax in the NRP dataset.

The result: The racial difference in audit selection flips.

The IRS would audit more non-Black taxpayers than Black taxpayers to catch the most underreported income tax.

The team also used the NRP dataset to train a model to predict the likelihood that a taxpayer has underreported income and the magnitude of a taxpayer’s underreporting for the entire 2014 dataset.

They found that an approach focused just on the likelihood that there’s underreporting of at least $100 would result in auditing more Black taxpayers (as was observed).

By contrast, focusing on the magnitude of underreporting (the amount of money unpaid by a taxpayer) would yield a result much closer to the oracle: More non-Black taxpayers would be audited than Black.

“The choice to focus on whether there is underreporting, as opposed to the magnitude of underreporting, is connected to broader structural sources of economic inequality and racial justice,” Smith said.

Because far more Black taxpayers have lower income, they have less opportunity to underreport substantial amounts of income, the researchers concluded.

By contrast, Smith said, “focusing audits on the amount of underreported income will disproportionately end up focusing on higher income individuals who are less likely to be Black taxpayers.”

Finally, the team wondered if the racial disparity in audits springs from IRS and congressional concerns about refundable tax credits, including the EITC and several others.

When someone claims one of these social security tax credits, they receive a refund even if they did not pay any taxes.

And some in government think it’s more important to avoid paying money to someone who claims it inappropriately than to collect all the tax dollars due from someone engaged in some other form of tax evasion.

To test the hypothesis that this approach would have a disparate impact on Black taxpayers, the team examined what would happen if the IRS focused audits specifically on the underreporting due to over-claiming of refundable tax credits (the EITC as well as two others) rather than total underreporting.

Their findings: This policy would result in Black taxpayers being audited at rates like what the team observed in the 2014 data.

Seventy percent of IRS audits happen through the mail, and 50% involve EITC claimants.

The team found that correspondence audits of EITC claimants are easy to trigger compared to labor-intensive field audits, cost very little, and require minimal effort by IRS personnel.

Unfortunately, the burden of correspondence audits on EITC claimants is more likely to fall on lower-income individuals, whose tax returns are less complex and less likely to lead to litigation, according to a recent study by the same research team.

In their new work, the team found that additional aspects of the IRS audit selection process have a racially disparate impact in the United States.

For example, even among correspondence audits of EITC claimants, the IRS devotes fewer resources to auditing EITC returns with business income.

The team concluded suggested that it’s because it would be more expensive to audit EITC returns with business income (about $385 per audit compared to $29 per audit for EITC claimants with no business income), Elzayn said.

And the team found this cost-saving measure has a disparate impact on Black taxpayers, who make up only 10% of EITC claimants reporting business income but 20% of EITC claimants who don’t report business income.

Yet even if IRS resource limits explain some of the racial disparities the team observed, they don’t explain all of them.

“Even holding fixed how many audits are devoted to EITC claimants who report business income, we still observe racial disparities,” Elzayn said.

The study’s authors have not made any formal recommendations for making the IRS audit selection algorithm more just.

Instead, they have written about the possible effects of alternative policies. This allows the IRS to reduce the racial impact of its system of choosing auditors.

These include predicting and focusing on the magnitude of taxpayers’ underreported income rather than just the likelihood of it; using IRS resources to audit more complex returns rather than focusing only on the simpler ones that are cheaper to audit; and viewing dollars as equal whether they are to be paid in refundable credits or received in taxes.

Before Biden signed the Racial Justice Executive Order that engendered this research project, the IRS needed more impetus and the ability to do that.

Now that they know the equity implications of how they select audits, Ho hopes they will tweak their confidential audit selection algorithm.

“Racial disparities in income are well known, and what the IRS chooses to focus on has big implications for whether audits complement, or undercut, a progressive tax system,” Ho said.

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From Disparity Study to Solutions: Oakland Coalition and Mayor Barbara Lee Renew Commitment to Reform City Contracting

She committed to ensuring the coalition has direct access to City leadership by designating Assistant Deputy City Administrator Chuck Baker the primary liaison. Working alongside Deputy City Administrator Sofia Navarro, DWES Director Emylene Aspilla, Race and Equity Director Darlene Flynn, and other City departments, the coalition will continue advancing these priorities while maintaining regular communication with City leadership.

Published

3 days ago

July 15, 2026

Oakland Post

Present at the recent meeting on implementing recommendations on Oakland’s Disparity Study on city work contracts were (first row, l. to r.): Chuck Baker, Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee and Darlene Flynn. Second row, l. to r.) Samuel Adams, Erica Astrella, Chadwick Spell, Cathy Adams, Stanley Cooper, Maria Wagner, Len Turner, Derek Barnes, Paul Cobb. Photo courtesy of Oakland Mayor’s Office.

Special to The Post

On June 30, a coalition of minority business leaders, contractors and others met with Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee to discuss the City’s commitment to implement recommendations outlined in Oakland’s Disparity Study and eliminate barriers that have historically prevented Black and minority-owned businesses from fully participating in public contracting opportunities.

Representatives of the Oakland African American Chamber of Commerce (OAACC), National Association of Minority Contractors Northern California (NAMC NorCal), Construction Resource Center (CRC), and the East Bay Rental Housing Association (EBRHA) said the meeting represented an important milestone in a process that has been underway for several months.

On April 21, the Oakland City Council’s Life Enrichment Committee received a progress report from the Department of Workplace and Employment Standards (DWES), where Director Emylene Aspilla presented the coalition’s working document and outlined a collaborative implementation plan between the coalition and the City. That report established 30-, 60-, and 90-day objectives focused on five key priorities:

Reforming Local and Small Local Business Enterprise (L/SLBE) waiver practices
Strengthening prompt payment compliance
Improving procurement forecasting and transparency
Expanding contractor capacity building and business development
Increasing oversight, accountability, and public reporting

A series of working sessions was scheduled between coalition representatives, DWES, and the City Administrator’s Office to begin implementing those priorities but were temporarily delayed by the resignation of former City Administrator Jestin Johnson.

Rather than allowing that momentum to stall, OAACC President and CEO Cathy Adams requested a meeting with Lee to gain clarity on the City’s direction and reaffirm its commitment to implementing the recommendations contained within the Disparity Study.

Coalition leaders described the meeting as productive, candid, collaborative, and encouraging.

During the meeting, Lee spoke not only from her role as mayor but also from her experience as an 8(a) contractor and business owner, sharing that she understands firsthand what it takes to build and grow a successful company, employ a substantial workforce, compete for public work, and navigate the complexities of municipal contracting.

Mayor Lee also expressed her commitment to personally participate in future working meetings with the coalition.

“This meeting represents a renewed commitment to partnership,” said Adams. “Mayor Lee listened, engaged, and demonstrated that she wants to move beyond conversation and into implementation.”

CRC’s Len Turner said the roadmap is already in place. ““The City already has the evidence. What’s been missing is execution. …Now it’s time to deliver results.”

Mario Wagner, president of NAMC NorCal agreed that the next phase must focus on implementation, funding, and accountability.

“The coalition is ready to get to work. …The next step is ensuring these initiatives receive meaningful funding in the upcoming fiscal budget cycle. Just as important, the City must establish transparent reporting mechanisms that keep the public informed through regular progress reports, measurable benchmarks, and accountability.”

Coalition leaders also acknowledged that while City leadership has indicated it is reviewing Local and Small Local Business Enterprise waiver practices, the community continues to seek a formal response regarding existing long-term waivers, including waivers extending 10 and 25 years. The coalition believes those waivers should be comprehensively reviewed and, where appropriate, rolled back as part of the City’s broader contracting reforms.

The coalition is also calling on the City to include meaningful funding in the upcoming fiscal budget cycle to support implementation of the Disparity Study recommendations and establish better methods and mechanisms to keep the public informed through regular progress reports, measurable benchmarks, and transparent accountability.

The coalition’s immediate next step is to schedule a working meeting with Baker, Aspilla, Lee, and the appropriate City staff to review what has already been accomplished under the implementation framework.

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COMMUNITY: What Trump’s Presidency Means for Black Economic Mobility

HOUSTON DEFENDER — Economic mobility for Black communities encompasses more than just income, including factors like homeownership, business creation, education, healthcare access, and voting rights.

Published

3 days ago

July 15, 2026

bpusa-syndication

COMMUNITY: What Trump's Presidency Means for Black Economic Mobility

By any measure, economic mobility is about more than money.

The ability to buy a home, start a business, attend college, access healthcare, vote, and advocate for one’s interests all shape whether families can build wealth and pass opportunity to future generations.

That reality is why many economists and civil rights scholars argue that the policies emerging from President Donald Trump’s second administration have major implications for Black economic mobility.

Some supporters contend that Trump’s emphasis on deregulation, lower taxes, and merit-based policies could create broader economic growth. Critics argue that cuts to diversity initiatives, civil-rights protections, and social programs disproportionately harm Black communities that already face historic barriers to wealth accumulation.

The truth may ultimately be found somewhere between those competing narratives.

Economic mobility: Income and more

According to Federal Reserve data, the median wealth of Black families remains a fraction of that of white families. Black homeownership rates also continue to trail national averages, while Black entrepreneurs remain more likely to be denied financing and less likely to receive venture capital investment.

“Where you start in America still matters too much,” noted economist William Darity Jr., whose research has focused extensively on racial wealth disparities.

As corporations scaled back Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives and government agencies faced sweeping cuts, Black women were among the hardest hit. Between spring and late 2025, more than 300,000 Black women either lost jobs, left the workforce, or were pushed out of employment, according to labor data and economic reports tracking the crisis.

Credit: Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Unemployment among Black women climbed from 5.4% to as high as 7.3% by the end of the year — one of the steepest increases of any demographic group. These numbers have an outsized impact on Black communities because nearly 80% of Black mothers in America are primary, sole, or co-breadwinners for their families, according to the Institute for Women’s Policy Research.

And what has gone almost unnoticed is that between November 2025 and February 2026, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that 567,000 Black men lost their jobs across all sectors.

As a result, policy changes affecting employment, housing, education, healthcare, business development, and voting rights can have significant economic consequences.

Texas Southern University (TSU) Professor Michael O. Adams argues that the current U.S. “war economy” isn’t helping matters.

“We need more reinvestment into domestic kinds of issues,” said Adams. “I’m looking at healthcare, education, and economic development… the war economy takes away from those efforts.”

According to Fortune Magazine, the engagement—dubbed Operation Epic Fury—is producing a “war economy” that is costing U.S. taxpayers over $1 billion a day.

Housing: The foundation of wealth

Homeownership remains the primary source of wealth for most American families.

One area of concern among housing advocates is the Trump administration’s opposition to race-conscious housing and reparative programs. The administration recently challenged a housing-reparations initiative in Evanston, Illinois, arguing that race-based housing assistance violates civil-rights laws. Supporters of the program say such initiatives are designed to address generations of housing discrimination.

Critics worry that similar challenges could limit future efforts to narrow the racial homeownership gap.

At the same time, supporters of the administration argue that reducing regulations and increasing housing supply could help all buyers regardless of race.

Whether those broader market benefits outweigh the loss of targeted programs remains a subject of debate among housing economists.

Black businesses face new questions

Black-owned businesses generated record growth following the pandemic, yet many still rely heavily on government contracts, supplier-diversity programs, and technical-assistance initiatives.

One of Trump’s most consequential actions has been a series of executive orders that have ended or restricted Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) requirements in federal agencies and federal contracting. The administration argues these measures restore “merit-based opportunity” and equal treatment under the law.

However, many Black business advocates see potential economic risks.

The administration revoked Executive Order 11246, a civil rights-era policy that required federal contractors to take affirmative action to ensure equal opportunity.

Reuters reported that minority contractors have already expressed concerns that changes to disadvantaged-business programs could reduce opportunities for Black-owned firms competing for infrastructure and government projects. Some contractors reported revenue losses, delays, and layoffs connected to certification changes.

For cities like Houston, where minority-owned firms play a major role in public contracting, the long-term effects could be substantial.

Source: Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

And with so many taxpayer dollars still directed towards the war in Iran, Houston’s roughly 200,000 Black businesses are on the front lines when it comes to being negatively impacted. Higher freight and energy costs, for instance, are wreaking havoc on already thin margins.

“I’m not sure people realize the tight margins small businesses operate within,” said Judson Robinson, president and CEO of the Houston Area Urban League. “When the price of oil needlessly skyrockets, the burden on Black people increases exponentially… it erases profit margins and can put you out of business.”

Education and workforce development

Higher education remains one of the strongest predictors of lifetime earnings.

The Trump administration has highlighted additional investments in Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) as evidence of its commitment to expanding opportunity. The White House has promoted increased support for HBCUs and workforce development initiatives as part of its Black History Month agenda.

However, in September of last year, the Department of Education (ED) announced it would pull the plug on approximately $350 million in discretionary funds for institutions that enroll a high percentage of minority students, including HBCUs

Additionally, many education advocates argue that the broader anti-DEI campaign may reduce programs designed to recruit, retain, and support underrepresented students on college campuses.

The administration contends such programs often violate principles of equal treatment. Opponents argue they address documented disparities in access and outcomes.

Healthcare and economic security

Economic mobility is difficult without good health.

Healthcare cuts or reductions in public benefits often affect Black households disproportionately because Black Americans are more likely to rely on Medicaid and other public-health programs.

Policy analysts warn that reductions in healthcare access can produce long-term economic consequences, including higher medical debt, lower workforce participation, and reduced family wealth.

For many families, healthcare costs can be the difference between building savings and falling deeper into financial insecurity.

Voting rights and political power

Economic mobility is also connected to political power.

Voting determines who controls budgets, education funding, housing policy, infrastructure spending, and economic-development initiatives.

Civil-rights advocates have expressed concern that efforts to weaken federal oversight of voting protections could reduce political influence in Black communities. While supporters argue that election-integrity measures strengthen confidence in elections, critics contend that some policies not only create additional barriers to participation but also actively create a reality of voter suppression.

The economic implications are significant because communities with less political representation often have less influence over public investment decisions.

Bottom line

For Black America, economic mobility has never depended solely on individual effort. It has also depended on public policy. Federal and state policies moving forward may determine whether Black families can narrow longstanding wealth gaps—or whether those gaps become even harder to close.

Based on reporting by Houston Defender.

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‘Michael’s’ Billion-Dollar Success Meets a Stunning Family Reversal

WASHINGTON INFORMER — As the film “Michael” achieved over $1 billion at the box office, making Michael Jackson’s estate the steward of the first music biopic to reach this financial milestone, a federal lawsuit involving the Cascio family has emerged. This suit highlights a complicated history involving financial difficulties for the family and an alleged unpaid $600,000 loan from Michael Jackson.

Published

3 days ago

July 15, 2026

bpusa-syndication

As the blockbuster “Michael” crossed the $1 billion mark at the worldwide box office and cemented Michael Jackson’s estate as the steward of the first music biopic ever to reach the milestone, another chapter involving one of the singer’s closest relationships has moved into federal court.

A lawsuit filed by four members of the Cascio family has generated headlines around the world. But court records, public financial filings and interviews with people close to the estate and Jackson family reveal a far more complicated story involving bankruptcy proceedings, tax liens, foreclosure litigation, an alleged unpaid $600,000 loan from Jackson himself and a family that for decades stood among the superstar’s most vocal defenders.

The federal complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, accuses Jackson of sexually abusing Edward Cascio, Dominic Savini Cascio, Marie-Nicole Porte and Aldo Cascio while they were children. It names the Michael Jackson Company, co-executors John Branca and the late John McClain, MJJ Productions, MJJ Ventures and others as defendants, asserting claims that include sex trafficking of children, negligence, fraud and breach of fiduciary duty.

For those who knew Jackson, however, the lawsuit represents an extraordinary reversal.

Jackson first met Dominic Cascio Sr. in 1984 while he was serving as banquet and general manager at New York City’s Helmsley Palace Hotel. The chance meeting developed into one of the closest friendships of Jackson’s adult life.

Over the next quarter-century, Jackson became a frequent guest at the Cascio family’s home in Hawthorne, New Jersey. He celebrated holidays with the family, spent extended periods there away from the pressures of celebrity and developed close relationships with the Cascio children. Just as significant, the family became one of the very few outside Jackson’s immediate relatives whom he trusted around Prince, Paris and Bigi Jackson, the children who today are among the principal beneficiaries of his estate.

That history makes today’s litigation particularly striking.

For years, Frank Cascio emerged as one of Jackson’s strongest public defenders.

In interviews, public appearances and his memoir, Frank Cascio repeatedly rejected allegations that Jackson abused children. He described Jackson as a loving friend and insisted the entertainer never behaved inappropriately toward him or members of his family. During appearances with Oprah Winfrey and Wendy Williams, he defended Jackson’s character and dismissed earlier accusations against the singer. Years later, members of that same family are now asking a federal jury to hold Jackson’s estate liable for allegations they say occurred decades ago.

People close to the estate and Jackson family say the lawsuit cannot be viewed apart from the family’s financial history.

Public court records reviewed by The Informer show that James Victor Porte, the husband of plaintiff Marie-Nicole Porte, sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in South Carolina in November 2025 before the case was converted to Chapter 7. During those proceedings, a bankruptcy judge granted a lender relief from the automatic stay, allowing foreclosure remedies involving real property to proceed.

Public records also show plaintiff Edward J. Cascio previously filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy protection in New Jersey.

Additional public filings document federal tax liens involving the Portes.

Sources familiar with the estate also pointed to a residence in Spartanburg County, South Carolina, valued at approximately $1 million, while arguing that Jackson himself had already demonstrated extraordinary financial generosity toward the family years earlier.

According to multiple people familiar with Jackson’s finances, the singer loaned Dominic Cascio Sr. approximately $600,000. Those sources contend they have never found evidence the money was repaid.

“The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree,” one family associate said. “They are just trying to get money that they don’t deserve.”

The latest lawsuit also follows an earlier dispute first reported exclusively by the Informer.

Last September, The Informer revealed that the estate had accused former Jackson associates of attempting to obtain $213 million while threatening to publicize allegations they had spent years publicly denying. At the time, Branca described the effort as “a shakedown” and declared, “Enough is enough.”

Branca, who this week celebrated the new film’s milestone with social media postings, has consistently rejected accusations that Jackson abused children, speaking from a position few others occupied.

His relationship with Jackson stretched over decades. Although the two occasionally disagreed professionally, Jackson repeatedly returned to Branca for advice. Eight days before Jackson died in June 2009, the two reunited at rehearsals for “This Is It” at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

“Trust was never easy for Michael,” Branca told the Black Press in a recent interview. “We had a wonderful relationship in the ‘80s and a little more challenging as time went on because there were so many people in his ear… We parted ways on more than one occasion over the decades, but we always reunited when it counted.”

When Jackson finalized his estate plan, he selected Branca and longtime music executive John McClain to serve as co-executors, a decision Branca said demonstrated the trust Jackson ultimately placed in them.

“In the end he chose to keep John McClain and me in the will as executors and that said a lot to us,” Branca said.

People familiar with internal estate discussions say Prince Jackson has also made his position clear regarding future settlements involving allegations against his father.

According to multiple sources, Prince has instructed the executors that there should be “no more payouts.”

“We always fought for Michael,” Branca explained.

Stacy M. Brown

stacybrownmedia@gmail.com

Stacy M. Brown is a senior writer for The Washington Informer and the senior national correspondent for the Black Press of America. Stacy has more than 25 years of journalism experience and has authored… More by Stacy M. Brown

Based on reporting by Washington Informer.