Calls last that long, she said, because they combine new product training, merchandising tips, inventory audits and informal socializing.
They are often unprepared to handle issues typical to the industry, like frequent Internal Revenue Service audits (because salons accept tips, Ms. Firrell said), heavy turnover and worker's compensation laws, she added.
In April, an audit (pdf) spurred by anonymous tips revealed fake bids for construction contracts and other procurement problems, according to State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli.
See Also: How To Not Get Audited By The IRS Ten Tips for Deducting Your "Hobby" IRS Seeking To Tax Your Hobby Defend Yourself Against Tax Torture Could The Self-Employed Be Barred From Deducting Some Losses?
For more tips, see "Ten Ways To Audit-Proof Your Tax Return".
Over the next decade, illegitimate tax shelters will short the government tens of billions of dollars, Mr. Summers said, adding that this official estimate is conservative because audits uncover "just the tip of the iceberg".
Owners might also want to conduct a Web-based audit of their homes that will provide some tips for energy saving.
I mean, the hassle of these audits has just reached a tipping point.
The balance tipped late last year when it became clear the auditing firm had failed to notice that Nikko Cordial, Japan's third-biggest broker, had inflated its profits in the year to March 2005.
The I.R.S. and the states have historically shared information, but usually after audits or enforcement actions were completed, not at the early stages when tips come in about tax evasion.
