What others say: Congressional action impacts IRS

  • By The Washington Post editorial
  • Wednesday, January 24, 2018 11:12am
  • Opinion

Hate the Internal Revenue Service? Worried that you won’t be able to fill out your returns correctly under the new tax law? Do not take it out on the poor IRS employee who could not answer your tax question, even after you spent a half-hour on hold. Blame the GOP-led Congress, which, in its anti-IRS fervor, has driven the agency into the ground.

It has become one of the most reliable traditions in contemporary Washington: Every year, the national taxpayer advocate explains that under-funding the IRS makes the tax filing process unnecessarily miserable for those who follow the law, while rewarding those who flout it. And every year, the Republican-led Congress decides to keep the tax system unnecessarily miserable for the law-abiding and easier on the lawbreakers.

“Funding cuts have rendered the IRS unable to provide acceptable levels of taxpayer service, unable to upgrade its technology to improve its efficiency and effectiveness, and unable to maintain compliance programs,” national taxpayer advocate Nina E. Olson wrote in her annual report to lawmakers. “It cannot answer the phone calls it currently receives, much less the phone calls it can expect to receive in light of tax reform, without adequate funding.”

Indeed, the new tax law could prompt a wave of confusion that the IRS is ill-prepared to handle. The agency estimates it needs about $500 million just to change computer programs, update forms, write new regulations and answer questions stemming from the bill. After the 1986 tax reform, agency call volume spiked, and the number of returns that required corrections also ticked up, and it is fair to expect the same now.

Though the IRS has tried to improve its phone service recently, even before the tax law passed it anticipated that fewer than half of callers would obtain help from a live person this year. Given the complexity of the new law, many people will have questions that are more than basic. “Taxpayers who want to learn about how the tax law affects them are left searching about 140,000 web pages on IRS.gov or turning to paid professionals,” Ms. Olson wrote.

While the taxpayer advocate argued that the IRS could do more with less, there is no doubt that underfunding is a key driver of the dysfunction. Congress has cut the agency’s budget by some $300 million since 2009, a bit under 3 percent. During that time, lawmakers have saddled the IRS with responsibility to oversee the phase-in of a new health-care law and, now, a major tax overhaul.

Can’t the IRS — and the Americans it is supposed to serve — just cope? “On the surface, it appears ‘customers’ (taxpayers) don’t have a choice about seeking another tax agency to work with — there are no competitors to which they can move their ‘business,’” Ms. Olson wrote. “In fact, however, there is a competitor, and it is the lure of noncompliance. If the IRS isn’t going to provide you the assistance you need in the manner you need it, then why bother complying with the tax laws?”

— The Washington Post,

Jan. 15

More in Opinion

Jackson Carney of Wrangell, a student in the Federal Subsistence Board Policy and Procedures class at the University of Alaska Southeast, testifies before the Federal Subsistence Board. (Photo by Ryan Morse/courtesy)
Point of View: Helping the next generation of hunters and fishermen to have a say

Ultimately, the goal is to ensure Alaskans, and young people, have a say in the decisions that affect them.

Sen. Jesse Bjorkman, a Nikiski Republican, speaks in favor of overriding a veto of Senate Bill 140 during floor debate of a joint session of the Alaska State Legislature on Monday, March 18, 2024 (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Capitol Corner: Failure of HB 69 takes us back to square one

Sen. Jesse Bjorkman reports back from Juneau.

Beach seine nets are pulled from the waters of Cook Inlet at a test site for the gear near Kenai, Alaska, on Tuesday, July 30, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Opinion: Expand the set beach seine experiment

A path forward to resolve the Upper Cook Inlet King and sockeye salmon commercial fishing and conservation crisis.

Rep. Justin Ruffridge, R-Soldotna, speaks in support of debating an omnibus education bill in the Alaska House Chambers on Monday, Feb. 19, 2024, in Juneau, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Capitol Corner: When politics win, our schools lose

Rep. Justin Ruffridge reports back from Juneau.

courtesy
Opinion: To prevent abuse and neglect, support child care providers

Quality, affordable child care makes society function.

Logo courtesy of League of Women Voters.
Point of View: Tell your representatives SAVE Act is not needed

The SAVE Act will disenfranchise Alaska voters and make the process of voting much more restrictive.

Sen. Jesse Bjorkman, a Nikiski Republican, speaks in favor of overriding a veto of Senate Bill 140 during floor debate of a joint session of the Alaska State Legislature on Monday, March 18, 2024 (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Capitol Corner: Taking steps toward a balanced budget

Sen. Jesse Bjorkman reports back from Juneau.

Rep. Justin Ruffridge, R-Soldotna, speaks in support of debating an omnibus education bill in the Alaska House Chambers on Monday, Feb. 19, 2024, in Juneau, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Capitol Corner: Dedicated to doing the work on education

Rep. Justin Ruffridge reports back from Juneau.

Sen. Jesse Bjorkman, R-Nikiski, speaks at a town hall meeting in the Moose Pass Sportsman’s Club in Moose Pass, Alaska, on Friday, Feb. 28, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Most Read