IRS Blames Budget Cuts for Smaller Workforce, Poorer Customer Service

If you had any less than desirable experiences with the IRS this year then you’re probably not alone. That’s because the top tax agency continues to be plagued by complaints of poor customer service and a general lack of assistance. According to the IRS there’s good reason for that. The agency says it cannot keep up with taxpayers needs due to the continuing budget cuts it has experienced over the last several years.

Because the IRS has less money to work with they have had to reduce their workforce and many people’s calls simply go unanswered. The IRS also continues to get a bad report card when it comes to customer service, because the agency can’t spend as much time training employees and they have a harder time retaining the employees they would like to keep. It all adds up to a lot of unhappy taxpayers and very few signs of encouragement.

It appears that unless the IRS gets a budget boost the problems will not only persist but they will likely get worse. Over the past six years, tax rolls have jumped by seven million new filers. Because of the surge, simply hiring temporary workers to help during the busy season doesn’t work anymore. That leaves taxpayers confused, frustrated and angry. People who need special help seem to be hurt the worst by all of this.

While the IRS continues to claim it needs more money in order to fix the problems, many Republican lawmakers are hesitant to raise the agency’s budget until the nation’s tax code is overhauled and simplified. In other words, the IRS could be waiting for a long time before they see an increase in their budget.

Posted in
tax return; tax scam

Don’t Get Scammed on Your 2015 Tax Return

Don’t Get Scammed on Your 2015 Tax Return By Alan Olsen, CPA, MBA (tax) Managing Partner Greenstein Rogoff Olsen & Co. LLP It’s tax season and for a lot of people that can be a very scary time of year. Some people will attempt to go it alone and use an online tax program, while…

Sales Tax Deduction Option, State and Local

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] Sales Tax Deduction Option, State and Local The Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006 extended the election to deduct state and local general sales taxes for 2006. The act was enacted after Schedule A (Form 1040), Itemized Deductions, and its instructions were printed. Because we were not able to include the instructions…

California Unitary Group of Corporations; Intercompany Distributions; Deferred Gain Tracking

California Unitary Group of Corporations; Intercompany Distributions; Deferred Gain Tracking New Form 3726 – Deadline Extended to 10/15/09 Unitary Groups must do more tracking in some cases. The Franchise Tax Board wants to make sure deferred intercompany gains don’t get lost over the years (and therefore, never taxed), so they are forcing taxpayers to provide…

Top Self Employed Tax Questions

Top Self Employed Tax Questions What is Business Turnover? Sales turnover is the total amount of income a business earns before deducting business expenses. Turnover includes receipts of any kind for goods sold or work done such as commission, tips, payments in kind, fees and insurance proceeds. Include sales turnover in your financial accounts at…