IMPORTANT INFORMATION REGARDING HOW BAD THE SERVICE AT THE IRS WILL BE THIS YEAR (THE IRS WILL NOT ASSIST IN TAX PREPARATION & WILL NOT ANSWER TAX-LAW QUESTIONS AFTER FILING SEASON) National Taxpayer Advocate Delivers Annual Report to Congress; Focuses on Taxpayer Service and Taxpayer Bill of Rights National Taxpayer Advocate Nina E. Olson today released her 2014 annual report to Congress, which expresses concern that taxpayers this year are likely to receive the worst levels of taxpayer service since at least 2001 when the IRS implemented its current performance measures. The IRS’s diminished service expectations for FY 2015 are as follows: (1) The IRS is unlikely to answer even half the telephone calls it receives, and levels of service may average as low as 43%. (2) Taxpayers who manage to get through are expected to wait on hold for 30 minutes on average and considerably longer at peak times. (3) The IRS will answer far fewer tax-law questions than in past years. During the upcoming filing season, it will not answer any tax-law questions except “basic” ones. After the filing season, it will not answer any tax-law questions at all, leaving the roughly 15 million taxpayers who file later in the year unable to get answers to their questions by calling or visiting IRS offices. (4) Tax return preparation assistance has been eliminated. HOW BAD IS THE IRS ACCORDING TO THE REPORT In the preface to the report, Olson emphasizes four points: “First, the budget environment of the last five years has brought about a devastating erosion of taxpayer service, harming taxpayers individually and collectively; “Second, the lack of effective administrative and congressional oversight, in conjunction with the failure to pass taxpayer rights legislation, has eroded taxpayer protections enacted 16 or more years ago; “Third, the combined effect of these trends is reshaping U.S. tax administration in ways that are not positive for future tax compliance or for public trust in the fairness of the tax system; and “Fourth, this downward slide can be addressed if Congress makes an investment in the IRS and holds it accountable for how it applies that investment.” Please visit taxpayeradvocate.irs.gov/2014AnnualReport for more information about this report, including an Executive Summary and downloadable graphics about features from the report.
Posted on: Wed, 14 Jan 2015 20:52:30 +0000
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