In the program’s second phase, the IRS terminated payment arrangements for 14,883 taxpayers with account balances of about $108 million. Image: supawat bursuk/Shutterstock.com
An inspector general report has found continuing problems with the program of private collection of tax debt, including lack of compliance with a law that was designed to shield lower-income debtors from collection.
The report is the latest in a series of evaluations of the program, which was revived in 2017 after several prior similar programs were abandoned out of concerns that tax collection should be only a governmental function. The current program, like the prior ones, involves accounts that the IRS is not actively pursuing for collection.
The report said that during the initial contract phase with four collection companies lasting through September 2021, the IRS assigned more than 4 million taxpayer accounts totaling more than $36.8 billion, with the companies being paid a commission. While the companies established repayment arrangements with nearly 190,000 individuals, “taxpayers later defaulted on more than half of them,” it said.
Also, during the second contract phase, two of the original companies were not selected to continue “and payment arrangements that were set up by these contractors were summarily cancelled at the end of the first contract, causing burden to those taxpayers. In total, the IRS terminated payment arrangements for 14,883 taxpayers with account balances of about $108 million. Although some taxpayers entered into other arrangements, the majority of the remaining taxpayers have not.”
In addition, a 2019 law changed the program to exempt people with income below certain thresholds from the collection effort, but the IG identified more than 14,000 who should have been dropped from the program but weren’t. And auditors said that documentation was lacking to show that all the contractor employees had cleared the background checks required before being given access to taxpayer information.
It said the IRS agreed with most of its recommendations.
Change in Direction on Employee Issues Ahead in New Congress
Early House Actions to Reflect GOP Focus on Spending
House Republicans Move to Revive Rule for Targeting Individual Federal Employees
January Raise Finalized, Will Range from 4.37 to 5.15 Percent
Spending Bill Allows 4.6 Percent Raise; Doesn’t Prevent a Future Schedule F
Most Expansion of GS Localities Put Off Until 2024; 2023 Raises Announced
See also,
OPM Describes Impact of Raise on Differing Categories of Employees
Oversight of Federal Employment, Retirement Issues Ahead
The TSP 2022 Website and Unresolved Issues
The Process of Retiring: Check Your Agency’s Work
Source link
