Internal Revenue Service: Assessment of Fiscal Year 2006 Budget Request and Interim Results of the 2005 Filing Season
Highlights
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has been shifting its priorities from taxpayer service to enforcement and its management of Business Systems Modernization (BSM) from contractors to IRS staff. Although there are sound reasons for these adjustments, they also involve risks. With respect to the fiscal year 2006 budget request, GAO assessed (1) how IRS proposes to balance its resources between taxpayer service and enforcement programs and the potential impact on taxpayers, (2) the status of IRS's efforts to develop and implement the BSM program, and (3) the progress IRS has made in implementing best practices in developing its Information Technology (IT) operations and maintenance budget. For the 2005 filing season, GAO assessed IRS's performance in processing returns and providing taxpayer service.
Recommendations
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Internal Revenue Service | The Commissioner of Internal Revenue should supplement the 2006 budget request with more detailed information on how proposed service reductions would impact taxpayers. |
Closed – Implemented
In July 2005, IRS provided Congress with more detailed information describing the impacts of the fiscal year 2006 budget request in each of three major program areas: Taxpayer Service, Enforcement, and Business Systems Modernization. In the information provided, IRS detailed the need to make tradeoffs between taxpayer service and enforcement efforts. Further, IRS provided details that were not included in the budget request on how the agency planned to implement specific reductions in both taxpayer assistance and tax return processing while minimizing the impact on taxpayers.
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