In positive terms rare for an IG review, an audit has praised IRS taxpayer assistance centers.
The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration undertook the study to determine whether the centers were professional, organized, well stocked with forms and whether sensitive information and equipment was properly secured. The centers had about 5.5 million contacts with taxpayers in fiscal 2014.
Auditors visited 34 centers and found them to be “generally clean, well organized, uncluttered, and professional . . . [the centers] generally completed follow-up procedures to ensure the delivery of all payments and taxpayer correspondence shipped to other IRS facilities, and in most cases, employees adequately secured IRS stamps and other material required for document authentication.”
The main issues observed were long lines at two locations; at seven of the locations some of the employees were not wearing the required name tags; and only 10 locations had the current versions of all required signs displayed.
Also in a rarity for an IG report, it made no recommendations.
