The report said however that IRS lacks a standard for what constitutes good customer telephone service that could be compared to its annual goals.
GAO recommended that the agency establish a customer service telephone standard, assess the costs and benefits of storing recorded calls beyond 45 days, solicit information on call trends from employees, develop a performance measure for the timeliness of taxpayer correspondence, and involve key stakeholders in its evaluation of its debit card program.
IRS disagreed with developing a customer service standard, not wanting to revise its measurement of phone service, according to the report.
It said however that a standard would allow the IRS to communicate to Congress what it believes constitutes good service.
IRS also disagreed with assessing the costs and benefits of storing calls beyond 45 days.
