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Program Integrity

A close up view of the granite front of the IRS Service Building shows three arches with doors and a row of columns above.

Government spending programs should be designed to ensure taxpayer dollars are effectively and efficiently channeled to the intended recipients while minimizing waste, fraud, and abuse.

The government puts resources into programs to support citizens in times of need. Without program integrity, however, taxpayer dollars can be distributed as improper payments or outright fraud.

We’re working with experts to identify programs in need of reform — such as modernization of unemployment insurance and IRS systems — to provide evidence-based guidance on how those programs can be transformed to deliver maximum impact per dollar spent.

Image: The IRS Service Building on Constitution Avenue in Washington, D.C. (Getty Images)

$45.6B
Estimated level of fraudulent payments made through pandemic unemployment insurance Source
9%
Proportion of calls answered by the IRS in the 2021 tax season Source
2.5 to 1
Estimated return on investment for each dollar spent modernizing the IRS Source
$496B
Estimated tax gap in 2016 Source