The National Treasury Employees Union has filed in federal district court a suit against the IRS under the Freedom Of Information Act to obtain documents related to the companies bidding for IRS contracts to collect on certain delinquent tax accounts, as well as information on the contracts awarded and on the protests filed by losing bidders.
The union said it filed an FOIA request seven months ago but that the IRS has not responded or requested an extension — the agency had 10 days to do so from the date of the request, under the act.
While FOIA contains some exemptions to prevent the release of certain kinds of information, NTEU said the documents it requested are not exempt from disclosure either under FOIA or under other federal laws.
Nina Olson, the National Taxpayer Advocate in her report to Congress noted that a lack of transparency in the program could lose public trust. She also recommended scrapping the program.
The union has asked the court to find that the agency’s lack of response constitutes an unlawful refusal to release records.