IRS Searches for Violations of Florida Employment Law

Miami, FLBeginning early next week, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will begin randomly auditing South Florida businesses in an effort to crack down on organizations that routinely violate Florida labor law and contribute to the state's $20 billion revenue gap.

span itemprop="image" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/ImageObject" style="display:block">The IRS plans to audit 6,000 businesses over the next three years in an effort to smoke out businesses that underreport or simply don't pay their non-payment taxes. Companies found to violate tax laws will likely be assessed new fines and penalties plus interest paid on back taxes, according to the Sun Sentinel.

"This is the first focus on employment tax since 1984," said Kevin Packman, a partner at a Miami Law Firm. "They're running every expense available through the company: vacations, cell phones, whatever they use in their daily lives. It comes down to reasonable compensation. A family vacation has nothing to do with business."

The audits will target employers who misclassify workers as independent contractors in an attempt to withhold employee benefits and payroll taxes, the Sentinel reports. Employers that take larger salaries to reduce company profits will also be targeted.