CALIFORNIA IN BRIEF : SAN FRANCISCO : IRS Cracks Down on Cash Transactions

The Internal Revenue Service said it has unearthed more than $1 million in unreported cash transactions in the San Francisco Bay Area. The review of 30 cash-intensive businesses is expected to result in more than $100,000 in proposed penalties. “This appears to be only the tip of the iceberg. We will continue to search for businesses that are undermining the anti-money-laundering laws,” said JoAnn Bank, chief of the examination division in San Francisco. IRS agents targeted auction houses, jewelers, auto dealers, precious metals firms and boat sellers. About half of the firms surveyed failed to report cash transactions of more than $10,000 to the IRS as required by law.