U.S. Seeks Shelter Data From KPMG and BDO

The Justice Department asked federal courts to force accounting firms KPMG and BDO Seidman to submit information to the Internal Revenue Service about tax shelters they sell to companies.

The firms refused to comply with IRS requests for records and testimony needed to assess whether KPMG and BDO Seidman should have registered some tax deals as part of an agency effort to crack down on illegal shelters, the IRS said.

The IRS has been trying to restrict use of sophisticated accounting by companies to evade taxes, a problem the Treasury Department has said costs the U.S. $10 billion annually.