At a glance
The Department of the Treasury is responsible for printing and minting all paper currency and coins in circulation through the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and the United States Mint. The Department also collects all federal taxes through the Internal Revenue Service, and manages U.S. government debt instruments.
The Department of Treasury is made up of 23 offices and bureaus with over 100,000 employees.
“Arrears of interest, continually accruing, will be as continual as a monument, either of inability or of ill faith, and will not cease to have an evil influence on public credit.” - Alexander Hamilton
A Path Forward
The Department of Treasury helps bolster the U.S. economy by promoting economic growth and protecting the financial system. Since most of the department’s funding (over 90%) goes to the Internal Revenue Service, most of its shortcomings fall there as well. The IRS estimates the net tax gap (the difference between taxes owed and taxes paid) is $406 billion, on average, and sits on GAO’s “high risk list” because of the failure to address the tax gap and fraudulent refund claims. Failing to address the problems associated with our nation’s revenue streams undermines the Treasury Department and the ability for the government to pay its debts.
526.12 Billion Annual Budget
Steven Mnuchin Secretary
Budget Growth 2012 - 2016
Annual budget for the federal government
Percentage of Federal Budget
Oversight Reports
Tax Gap: IRS Needs Specific Goals and Strategies for Improving Compliance
Public Relations Spending: Selected Agencies’ Activities Supported by Contracts and Public Affairs Staff
TREASURY OIG: BEP’s Network and Systems Security Was Found to Be Insufficient
TREASURY OIG: Treasury Was Not in Compliance with IPERA for Fiscal Year 2016 Due to High Improper Payment Rate for the Earned Income Tax Credit Program
TREASURY OIG: Banks Inaccurately Reported Qualified Small Business Lending Gains
TREASURY OIG: Treasury Was Not in Compliance with IPERA for Fiscal Year 2015 Due to High Improper Payment Rate for the Earned Income Tax Credit Program
GAO: Corporate Income Tax: Most Large Profitable U.S. Corporations Paid Tax but Effective Tax Rates Differed Significantly from the Statutory Rate
TREASURY OIG: FinCEN Continues to Face Challenges with Money Services Businesses
GAO: Financial Regulatory Reform: Financial Crisis Losses and Potential Impacts of the Dodd-Frank Act
GAO: Improvements Needed in Controls over the Processes Used to Prepare the U.S. Consolidated Financial Statements
GAO: Tobacco Taxes: Large Disparities in Rates for Smoking Products Trigger Significant Market Shifts to Avoid Higher Taxes
GAO: Corporate Tax Expenditures: Information on Estimated Revenue Losses and Related Federal Spending Programs
GAO: New Markets Tax Credit: Better Controls and Data Are Needed to Ensure Effectiveness
GAO: International Taxation: Information on the Potential Impact on IRS and U.S. Multinationals of Revised International Guidance on Transfer Pricing
GAO: Federal Tax Collection: Potential for Using Passport Issuance to Increase Collection of Unpaid Taxes
GAO: Identity Theft: Additional Actions Could Help IRS Combat the Large, Evolving Threat of Refund Fraud
GAO: Identity Theft and Tax Fraud: Enhanced Authentication Could Combat Refund Fraud, but IRS Lacks an Estimate of Costs, Benefits and Risks
GAO: Low-Income Housing Tax Credit: Joint IRS-HUD Administration Could Help Address Weaknesses in Oversight
GAO: IRS Whistleblower Program: Billions Collected, but Timeliness and Communication Concerns May Discourage Whistleblowers
GAO: Program Integrity: Views on the Use of Commercial Data Services to Help Identify Fraud and Improper Payments
GAO: Tax Debt Collection: IRS Needs to Define Field Program Objectives and Assess Risks in Case Selection
GAO: Treasury and OMB Need to Reevaluate Long- standing Exemptions of Tax Regulations and Guidance
GAO: IRS Referral Programs: Opportunities Exist to Strengthen Controls and Increase Coordination across Overlapping Programs
GAO: Information Security: IRS Needs to Further Improve Controls over Financial and Taxpayer Data
GAO: Internal Revenue Service: Preliminary Observations on the Fiscal Year 2017 Budget Request and 2016 Filing Season Performance
GAO: Employment Taxes: Timely Use of National Research Program Results Would Help IRS Improve Compliance and Tax Gap Estimates
GAO: Low-Income Housing Tax Credit: Actions Needed to Strengthen Oversight and Accountability
GAO: U.S. Coins: Benefits and Considerations for Replacing the $1 Note with a $1 Coin
TREASURY OIG: Continued Inconsistent Use of Over-age Correspondence Lists Contributes to Taxpayer Burden and Unnecessary Interest Payments
TREASURY OIG: Affordable Care Act: Internal Revenue Service Verification of Premium Tax Credit Claims During the 2015 Filing Season
TREASURY OIG: Interim Results for the 2016 Filing Season
TREASURY OIG: Without Expanded Error Correction Authority, Billions of Dollars in Identified Potentially Erroneous Earned Income Credit Claims Will Continue to Go Unaddressed Each Year
TREASURY OIG: General Management: BEP’s Administration of the Burson- Marsteller Public Education and Awareness Contract Was Deficient
Can you believe the US Government spends more money on it’s cable bill than on disaster relief?