IRS contacts 1 in 8 millionaires for extra taxes

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The Internal Revenue Service says it sought extra tax payments last year from 1 in 8 people earning more than $1 million annually.

That is far more than the 1 in 100 people earning under $200,000 who heard from the IRS.

In an annual report, the IRS says its efforts to collect all taxes owed netted $55 billion.

But that is nearly $3 billion less than in 2010, a drop the agency blames on a falloff in estate taxes and on corporations writing off their losses.

IRS officials say the enforcement aimed at millionaires is to assure people that tax laws are applied fairly to everyone.