IRS employees are in compliance with several restrictions on their interactions with members of the public, an IG report has found, although it said that there have been some taxpayer complaints that have resulted in disciplinary actions against employees.
The IG was reviewing policies to help ensure that taxpayers are afforded the right to designate an authorized representative to act on their behalf in dealing with IRS personnel in a variety of tax matter. A section of tax code generally requires IRS personnel to stop a taxpayer interview whenever a taxpayer requests consultation with a representative and prohibits IRS personnel from bypassing a qualified representative without supervisory approval.
A taxpayer can file a civil suit seeking monetary damages against the IRS if an IRS employee intentionally disregards these provisions by denying the taxpayer the right to representation.
The IG closely examined 96 case histories of taxpayers who had collection actions against them and found that the revenue officers followed the law in each case. “However, in the IRS’s database which tracks taxpayer and tax practitioner complaints, there were 29 allegations that IRS employees violated [the law]. In nine of these cases, the IRS took disciplinary action against those employees,” it said.
