National Taxpayer Advocate
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The IRS answered 73 percent of phone calls during the 2016 tax filing season, compared with 37 percent in 2015. Average wait times were cut in half as well. Taxpayers waited an average of 11 minutes to speak with an IRS representative this year, compared to 23 minutes the year before.
July 11, 2016 -
The IRS is basing its vision for the future on incorrect assumptions about taxpayers and the services they need, said National Taxpayer Advocate Nina Olson. Tight budgets have squeezed the IRS so far that the agency is getting rid of more in-person customer services in favor of more online accounts.
April 15, 2016 -
In its 2015 annual report, the National Taxpayer Advocate warns that the Internal Revenue Service could jeopardize customer service and taxpayer compliance if it makes certain changes to how it handles communication, information and processing.
January 07, 2016 -
It really was that bad. The National Taxpayer Advocate has confirmed in a new report what the IRS long warned about: Taxpayers can forget about getting help from the agency amid budget cuts and staff shortages.
July 16, 2015 -
The strict budget constraints placed on the Internal Revenue Service are crippling efforts to conduct the most basic levels of public service, said IRS Commissioner John Koskinen.
February 26, 2015 -
In Nina Olson's new report to Congress covering 2014, the National Taxpayer Advocate told of a grim situation for the IRS. Service has eroded badly, oversight is poor and tax administration is being reshaped in negative ways by forces outside the agency's control. There's plenty of blame to go around. But the situation isn't hopeless. Olson joined the Federal Drive with Tom Temin with more on the problems and possible solutions.
January 23, 2015 -
The newly adopted "Taxpayer Bill of Rights" will help IRS employees provide better service to taxpayers and sends a "message to Congress."
June 10, 2014 -
In an annual report to Congress, the National Taxpayer Advocate, Nina Olson, wrote that the IRS faces "unstable and chronic underfunding that puts at risk the IRS's ability to meet its current responsibilities, much less articulate and achieve the necessary transformation to an effective, modern tax agency."
January 10, 2014 -
Faced with declining resources, the Internal Revenue Service has diverted resources from elsewhere inside the agency to try and head off skyrocketing cases of identity theft stemming from tax refunds.
November 30, 2012