A weak labor market has left half of college students (age twenty-five or younger) who graduated with a bachelor's degree either jobless or "underemployed" ? a troubling statistic.

Troy Beam of Pennsylvania was sentenced April 10 to 74 months in prison by US District Judge Christopher C. Conner, the Justice Department, and the IRS. On May 4, 2011, Beam was convicted of tax evasion, obstructing and impeding the due administration of the IRS laws, and willful failure to file federal income tax returns.

A federal grand jury in the District of Columbia returned an indictment charging Enyinnaya Udo with twenty-five counts of aiding and assisting in the preparation of false income tax returns, the Justice Department and the IRS announced April 6.

On April 17, 2012, the Justice Department, US Attorney George L. Beck Jr., and the IRS announced that federal grand jury in Montgomery returned an indictment on March 28, 2012, charging Antoinette Djonret for using stolen identities to file false tax returns.

A federal jury in Worcester, MA, convicted William Scott Dion and Catherine Floyd, both of Sanbornville, NH, and Charles Adams of Norwood, MA, for conspiracies to defraud the United States through the promotion and use of multiple tax fraud schemes, the Justice Department and the IRS announced on April 2.

The two top executives in the US government – President Obama and Vice President Biden – released their 2011 federal tax returns this past week. The Obama's return resulted in an effective tax rate slightly higher than 20 percent. For the Biden, the effective tax rate was more than 23 percent.

A federal grand jury in Montgomery, Alabama, returned an indictment on March 28, 2012, charging Wanda Davis with filing false federal income tax returns, the Justice Department and the IRS announced on April 2, 2012. The indictment was unsealed April 2 following Davis's initial appearance.

The CSIRC, which is responsible for monitoring the IRS network for cyber attacks and computer vulnerabilities, "is effectively performing most of its responsibilities for preventing, detecting, and responding to computer security incidents," according to a new report publicly released by TIGTA.

The IRS is confident that its initiatives to increase regulation of tax preparers will be found legal, despite challenges from opponents. Last week, IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman, said the new requirements were being implemented carefully and would "help smoke out unscrupulous preparers."