Two bills before Congress are likely to keep scrutiny on the
hot-button issue of private tax collection and lead to the
periodic reevaluation of the decision to authorize it, the
Congressional Research Service has noted in a new report.
It said critics appear to have lost the first round of the debate
and that the bills, HR-1583 and HR-1621, intended to repeal the
Internal Revenue Service’s authority to enter contracts with
private collectors, are unlikely to be enacted in the current
Congress.
CRS added however that underlying concerns in the legislation
will continue to inform the debate over whether tax collection
is an inherently governmental activity.
“Some of the concerns raised by critics remain unresolved or
untested in the crucible of actual experience,” according to
the report.
It said Congress will likely monitor and assess the agency’s
management of the initiative — including its oversight of
PCAs, data it collects on the results of the initiative, PCA
performance in fulfilling their contracts, cost-effectiveness,
and its impact on taxpayer rights.
The report identified issues for Congress to consider including
whether the resources would be better spent — as federal
employee unions have argued — by bolstering the IRS’s own
collection efforts rather than hiring contractors, and whether
taxpayers are adequately informed of their rights and protections
under the plan.
The report also questioned whether the plan offers sufficient
incentives for PCAs to avoid breaking the law when going after
taxpayers, if the IRS has adequate resources to oversee the
performance of contractors it hires, and whether PCAs are
performing inherently governmental activities.
