IRS Taxpayer Advocate Issues Report

Nina Olson, the National Taxpayer Advocate, issued her annual report to Congress in which she lists the 20 most serious tax problems as required by Internal Revenue Code (IRC) § 7803(c)(2)(B)(ii)(III). They are:

1. The Complexity of the Tax Code
2. The IRS Needs to More Fully Consider the Impact of Collection Enforcement Actions on Taxpayers Experiencing Economic Difficulties
3. Understanding and Reporting the Tax Consequences of Cancellation of Debt Income 4. Employment Taxes
5. IRS Process Improvements to Assist Victims of Identity Theft
6. Taxpayer Service: Bringing Service to the Taxpayer
7. Navigating the IRS
8. IRS Handling of ITIN Applications Significantly Delays Taxpayer Returns and Refunds
9. Access to the IRS by Individual Taxpayers Located Outside the United States
10. Customer Service Within Compliance
11. Local Compliance Initiatives Have Great Potential But Face Significant Challenges
12. Customer Service Issues in the IRS’s Automated Collection Syste (ACS)
13. The IRS Should Proactively Address Emerging Issues Such as Those Arising From “Virtual Worlds”
14. Suitability of the Examination Process
15. The IRS Correspondence Examination Program Promotes Premature Notices, Case Closures, and Assessments
16. The Impact of IRS Centralization on Tax Administration
17. Incorrect Examination Referrals and Prioritization Decisions Cause Substantial Delays in Amended Return Processing for Individuals
18. Inadequate Files Management Burdens Taxpayers
19. The IRS Miscalculates Interest and Penalties But Fails to Correct These Errors Due to Restrictive Abatement Policies
20. Inefficiencies in the Administration of the Combined Annual Wage Reporting Program Impose Substantial Burden on Employers and Waste IRS Resources

Tax Problem 21 was an update of a previous item. According to the National Taxpayer Advocate the IRS’s private tax debt collection initiative is failing In most respects.

More detail on some of these tax problems in future blog posts. For the moment you may wish to check out the post at ataxingmatter describing the National Taxpayer Advocate’s previous criticisms of the private tax debt collection initiative here.

If you are having tax problems contact the tax attorneys at Brager Tax Law Group, A P.C.

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