Washington,
D.C.–U.S. Senate
Finance Committee Republicans, led by Ranking Member Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), sent
a letter to Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Commissioner Charles Rettig requesting
detailed plans for how the agency will spend the massive $80 billion injection
of mandatory funding recently granted to it under the Inflation Reduction Act,
including how it will fix existing problems while satisfying the critical need
for improved customer service, transparency and accountability.
Rather than
vague plans outlined by Treasury to date, the Senators request detailed
information on how the IRS will:
- Prioritize taxpayer services;
- Guard against partisan targeting;
- Protect taxpayer privacy;
- Modernize technology;
- and
Track and publish timely and reliable reports to
establish comprehensive transparency and accountability, allowing for
meaningful independent oversight.
From the letter:
On
Prioritizing Taxpayer Services:
“…In 2021,
taxpayers waited at length for their refunds and approximately 250 million
calls to the IRS went unanswered. Millions of taxpayers should not wait
well over a year for their refund or spend days trying to connect with the
IRS. The situation is particularly dire for millions faced with 40-year
high inflation and in need of their tax refund to support their families. . . .
The IRS should use its additional funding to prioritize clearing the backlog of
returns and correspondence, and expediently pay taxpayers who are owed a
refund.”
On Guarding
Taxpayers Against Partisan Targeting:
“Americans
should be able to trust that the government will enforce the law without regard
to political beliefs, religion, or party affiliation. Compared to other
government agencies, the IRS has a broad and powerful reach into Americans’
daily lives. The American people have a right to expect the IRS will
exercise its power in a fair, neutral, and impartial manner. There should
be no hint of religious or political bias or partisanship; the IRS must take
this responsibility seriously.”
On
Protecting Taxpayer’s Privacy:
“The IRS
must hold taxpayer information securely in order to preserve its
confidentiality. The law protecting taxpayer information rests on sound
principles that evolved from adverse experiences with the misuse of tax
information.
…
“Regarding
the ProPublica leak, the American people remain in the dark about who was
responsible and how it was allowed to happen. Although we understand
TIGTA is investigating the leak to ProPublica, the IRS is not a bystander in
this ‘very damaging’ event.”
On
Modernizing Technology:
“Modernizing
the IRS’s technology infrastructure must be a top priority. With an
additional $4.75 billion of the supersized IRS funding allocated to
technological improvements, and with the IRS’s Integrated Modernization
Business Plan providing loose sketches of what the IRS wants to do and how it
plans on doing it, there is room for realizing productivity gains and
accompanying improved taxpayer service.
…
“Refinement
and clear articulation of metrics and milestones that independent overseers can
objectively use for monitoring any IRS IT and/or business plan modernization
are required.”
On
Transparency and Accountability:
“The IRS
needs to report to Congress and the American people clear, reliable metrics for
monitoring productivity improvements and related customer service improvements
facilitated by its supersized budget.
…
“With an
infusion of $80 billion of new funding, the IRS must be accountable, and
accountability requires transparency and timely communication with its
authorizing Committees.”
Read the full
letter here.