Tax Administration: IRS Can Improve on the Success of Its Problem Resolution Program
GGD-88-12
Published: Dec 22, 1987. Publicly Released: Dec 29, 1987.
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Highlights
Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO evaluated the Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) Problem Resolution Program (PRP), focusing on: (1) its work load and effectiveness; (2) the impact of computer systems; and (3) implementation of prior GAO recommendations.
Recommendations
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Internal Revenue Service | The Commissioner of Internal Revenue should redesign the account referral form used by IRS employees and notices sent to taxpayers so that information is obtained on the number of prior taxpayer contacts and the time period during which the taxpayer attempted to resolve a problem. |
In February 1989, IRS revised its Form 4442, as recommended.
|
| Internal Revenue Service | The Commissioner of Internal Revenue should revise IRS notices to request that taxpayers who have questions use the toll-free telephone system before writing to a service center. |
IRS provided telephone assistors additional training and access to account information to more expeditiously deal with taxpayers' inquiries. IRS notices contain the toll-free telephone numbers, but will not be revised to encourage taxpayers to call district offices rather than correspond with service centers.
|
| Internal Revenue Service | The Commissioner of Internal Revenue should improve the usefulness of the PRP questionnaire follow-up effort by: (1) including questions on when contacts were made to assess how well IRS employees are identifying special assistance cases; (2) including questions addressing the reasons for taxpayers' repeated contacts with IRS; (3) revising the question assessing taxpayer satisfaction to avoid prompting taxpayers to give a positive response; (4) monitoring and evaluating the appropriateness of service center and district office decisions to exclude certain taxpayers from follow-up; and (5) obtaining a more statistically projectable response rate. |
IRS has revised the PRP questionnaire along the lines GAO recommended.
|
| Internal Revenue Service | The Commissioner of Internal Revenue should obtain more complete and accurate information on recurring problems by having only a select number of trained employees code a statistically projectable sample of special assistance cases they handled. |
IRS is revising and improving its case coding system, but intends to continue to have all employees rather than a select cadre code the cases. GAO considers this recommendation closed.
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