Help maintain healthy and competitive U.S. capital
markets;
Increase revenues through more effective tax collection;
Promote global economic security; and
Use technology to improve the Government’s financial
management.
Helping Maintain Healthy and Competitive U.S. Capital Markets
Provides economic leadership.
Supports the analysis of, and coordinates appropriate
responses to, economic challenges and opportunities.
Responds to troubled mortgage
markets. Partners with the private sector to assemble
a group of lenders, loan servicers, mortgage counselors, and investors
(the HOPE NOW Alliance) to identify troubled borrowers and help them
refinance or modify their mortgages, so more families can stay in
their homes.
Strengthens U.S. capital market
competitiveness. Continues the study of U.S. financial regulations and the Nation’s regulatory structure
to ensure that the United States continues to have the world's pre-eminent
financial markets.
Treasury will work to strengthen financial reporting
and auditing and will consider a modernized regulatory
structure that improves oversight, reduces overlap, and adapts to
market innovation.
Promotes financial literacy. Supports the newly-formed President’s Advisory Council on Financial Literacy and launches new activities, such
as an exam and award program for high school students, to improve
financial literacy in the United States.
Enhances financial market
surveillance. Enhances the Department’s capability
to provide a robust response to economic and financial crises through
improvements to Treasury’s crisis management infrastructure.
Increasing Revenues through More Effective Tax Collection
Reduces the tax gap. Proposes 16 changes to existing tax law to help decrease the tax
gap, which is the gap between taxes voluntarily paid on time and total
taxes owed. These measures are estimated to generate $36 billion in
new revenues over 10 years.
A new tax gap reduction initiative will require the
reporting of automated payments to support business income claims. Taxpayer errors are reduced
and compliance rates improve when the Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
can compare information provided in returns with information provided
by third parties.
Collects revenues through
law enforcement initiatives. $7.5 bllion is provided for
enforcement in 2009, an increase of 7 percent over 2008, including
new initiatives with an expected return on investment of $6.5 to $1
once fully implemented.
New enforcement initiatives will improve revenue reporting
of small businesses and the self-employed—estimated to be the
largest component of the tax gap, increase reporting compliance of
domestic taxpayers with offshore financial transactions, and increase
audits of large corporations.
In 2007, the IRS collected $2.7 trillion in Federal
tax revenue, with a record $59 billion collected
through enforcement activities, an increase of 20 percent over 2006.
This represents a return on investment for enforcement-related activities
of $8.6 to $1.
Furthering Global Economic Security
Strengthens global anti-money
laundering efforts. Improves anti-money laundering and
law enforcement initiatives through increased sharing of financial
intelligence throughout the U.S. intelligence community and with the
Nation's international partners.
Modernizes money laundering
information collection and analysis. Retools Treasury’s
money laundering information technology system to increase the number
of banks filing electronic Currency Transaction Reports and thereby reduce the cost of compliance
with reporting requirements. This change will improve the quality
and timeliness of data submitted, resulting in more accurate analyses.
Facilitates industry compliance
with anti-money laundering initiatives. Streamlines reporting
requirements for the industry, tailors reporting requirements to industry
segments that are newly covered by Federal regulations, and expands
outreach to other regulators and the industry to ensure that requirements
are applied consistently.
Supports international dialogue
and partnerships. Promotes continued outreach and cooperation
with major trading partners and emerging economies, such as Europe,
India, and Latin America, and supports the Strategic Economic Dialogue
with China.
Using Technology to Improve the Government’s Financial
Management
Processes electronic tax returns
more efficiently. $25 million to improve the ability of
the IRS to receive and process electronically-filed tax Form 1040s.
Improves debt management.
Funds new investments in risk and portfolio management
systems to better manage Treasury’s $9 trillion debt portfolio,
ensuring that the U.S. Treasury market remains the pre-eminent sovereign
debt market in the world.
Saves money through electronic
Federal payments and collections. $47 million for new
technology to increase electronic Federal payments and collections.
Each Federal payment converted from paper to electronic
format saves the taxpayer 80 cents, and 19 cents is saved for each
additional $1,000 collected by the Government electronically.
Source: Bureau of Engraving and Printing
In 2008, Treasury will begin printing the re-designed $5 bill, incorporating several new anti-money laundering security features.
Since 2001, the Department of the Treasury has:
Implemented a series of major economic policy changes
that have helped the economy generate approximately 8.3 million new
jobs since 2003 and 2.8 percent average annual growth in gross domestic
product.
Responded to turbulence in the credit markets and
the mortgage market, in particular, by aggressively working with other
Federal agencies and the private sector to help homeowners avoid foreclosure.
Increased electronic Federal payments to individuals
and businesses from 72 percent to 78 percent in 2007, an increase
of 90 million payments worth $221 billion.
Increased electronic filings of tax returns of individuals
from 31 to 57 percent and businesses from 9 to 19 percent.
Improved taxpayer service by increasing the percentage
of calls answered by a live assistor from 56 percent to 82 percent
in 2007 and by providing a new web-based service, which 31 million
people used in 2007 to easily check the status of their refunds.
Protected the financial markets and their critical
infrastructure following the attacks on September 11th.
Led the international community in efforts to safeguard
the financial system from illicit abuse by North Korea and Iran.
Promoted knowledge about the history and geography
of the United States and the U.S. Presidents, and the rich diversity of the national heritage, through
the 50 State Quarters Program and the Presidential Dollar Coins program.
Increased Oversight of Elections, Improved Voter Systems
The Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA) instituted new voting
system and election oversight requirements and election administration
standards. Over $3 billion in Federal grants to States was authorized
by HAVA and distributed to States and local governments since 2003,
to improve the administration of elections and to replace antiquated
voting equipment with systems that have robust security and accessibility
features. In 2009, $17 million is provided for the Election Assistance
Commission (EAC) to develop, review, and publish a new set of voluntary
voting system guidelines, which States use to determine their own
voting system requirements. New guidelines will likely address wireless
components of voting machines, software independence, and voter-verified
paper audit trails, among other issues. EAC will also enhance its
existing voting system certification program by incorporating the
first Federal inspection program of voting machine manufacturers.
The financing of Federal election campaigns has also changed
significantly during this Administration with increasing amounts of
funds being raised and spent by Federal candidates in an expanding
campaign activity period. To help meet the challenges posed by this
growth, $64 million is provided for the Federal Election Commission
(FEC) in 2009 to enforce Federal campaign finance laws and to help
bring transparency to the Federal campaign process. In 2009, FEC
will make enhancements to its campaign finance disclosure database
and website, and continue to increase the efficiency of its campaign
finance enforcement and audit
programs.
Department of the Treasury (In millions of dollars)
2007 Actual
Estimate
2008
2009
Spending
Discretionary
Budget Authority:
Internal Revenue
Service
10,597
10,892
11,362
Financial Management
Service
235
234
239
Departmental Offices
247
267
301
Bureau of Public
Debt
176
173
177
Inspectors General
150
159
165
Alcohol and Tobacco
Tax and Trade Bureau
91
94
97
Financial Crimes
Enforcement Network
73
86
91
Community Development
Financial Institutions Fund
55
94
29
All other
−145
−4
—
Total, Discretionary
budget authority
11,479
11,995
12,461
Total, Discretionary
outlays
11,335
11,868
12,485
Mandatory Outlays:
Payment where
Earned Income Exceeds Liability for Tax
38,274
39,463
41,022
Legislative proposal
—
—
−40
Payment where
Child Credit Exceeds Liability for Tax
16,159
16,321
16,780
Legislative proposal
—
—
3
Payment where
Alternative Minimum Tax Credit Exceeds Liability for Tax
—
357
306
Interest Payments
on Advances to the Black Lung Disability Fund Trust Fund
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