Job losses at the IRS resulting from recent budget restrictions have resulted in declines in taxpayer service, case closures, and dollars collected, according to a report by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA), the latest in a long series of similar reports from that office and others.
It said that decreases in the IRS’s budget have resulted in the reduction of 21 percent of automated collection service contact representatives and 28 percent of field collection revenue officers. That resulted in the ACS answering 25 percent fewer taxpayer telephone calls since 2011 and taxpayers whose calls were answered spent an average of eight minutes longer waiting for a contact representative.
In fiscal 2014, revenue officers collected $222 million (7 percent) less than in FY 2011 and closed 34 percent fewer cases due to the decrease in the number of revenue officers.
“There is a significant correlation between the IRS’s reduced collection budget and the reduction in efficiency and effectiveness of its collection operation,” the office said. “The availability of key collection employees directly affects taxpayer service and the IRS’s ability to take appropriate enforcement action on delinquent taxpayers.”
Budget limitations also have reduced promotional opportunities for employees, it added.
