Sonny Clark
Diamond Member
- Banned
- #1
Expecting a refund this year? Expecting to pay additional taxes this year? Well, don't expect the IRS to get it right. And, for those planning to "cheat" on their taxes this year, the door seems to be wide open.
IRS chief: Budget cuts net 'crummy' taxpayer service
Some responses from the IRS when questioned about this tax season:
Q. How is this tax season shaping up?
A. Every filing season is a challenge for us. So far, we are off to a strong start. We'll process about 150 million individual tax returns this year, and we drive what I call a Model T in our IT system. We have applications that have been running since John F. Kennedy was president.
Q. What kind of service can taxpayers expect?
A. Our taxpayer service level, certainly on the phones, is not going to be very good this year. And it wasn't particularly good last year. The challenge with yet another budget cut this year is that we'll struggle to get close to the same crummy level of service we had last year.
Q. Will the budget cuts save money?
A. On the enforcement side, we have 5,000 fewer revenue agents/officers and criminal investigators. We estimate that will cost the government over $2 billion this year for the loss of those people alone. It really makes no sense at all to continue to underfund the agency that collects $3 trillion a year and funds the government.
Q. What about compliance?
A. The more information people know we have, the better they are at compliance. Years ago, you'd just put down the number of dependents. And then someone decided it would be very useful to have the Social Security number of the child included on the return. The year that went into effect, we lost almost 7 million children — a terrible plague.
IRS chief Budget cuts net crummy taxpayer service
____________________________________________________________________________________
The government wants to raise taxes, yet, they can't properly manage taxes or tax collection. Is there something wrong with this picture?
IRS chief: Budget cuts net 'crummy' taxpayer service
Some responses from the IRS when questioned about this tax season:
Q. How is this tax season shaping up?
A. Every filing season is a challenge for us. So far, we are off to a strong start. We'll process about 150 million individual tax returns this year, and we drive what I call a Model T in our IT system. We have applications that have been running since John F. Kennedy was president.
Q. What kind of service can taxpayers expect?
A. Our taxpayer service level, certainly on the phones, is not going to be very good this year. And it wasn't particularly good last year. The challenge with yet another budget cut this year is that we'll struggle to get close to the same crummy level of service we had last year.
Q. Will the budget cuts save money?
A. On the enforcement side, we have 5,000 fewer revenue agents/officers and criminal investigators. We estimate that will cost the government over $2 billion this year for the loss of those people alone. It really makes no sense at all to continue to underfund the agency that collects $3 trillion a year and funds the government.
Q. What about compliance?
A. The more information people know we have, the better they are at compliance. Years ago, you'd just put down the number of dependents. And then someone decided it would be very useful to have the Social Security number of the child included on the return. The year that went into effect, we lost almost 7 million children — a terrible plague.
IRS chief Budget cuts net crummy taxpayer service
____________________________________________________________________________________
The government wants to raise taxes, yet, they can't properly manage taxes or tax collection. Is there something wrong with this picture?
