TIGTA Report Casts Doubt On Effectiveness of Private Tax Collection Program

Another in a series of reports by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) underscores continuing and significant problems with use by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) of private debt collectors.

“TIGTA’s most recent report, dealing with contractor and IRS implementation of procedures covering the private collection of federal taxes, highlights serious issues with the taxpayer complaint and concern process,” said President Colleen M. Kelley of the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU).

“The upshot,” she added, “is that the true number of consumer complaints over this misguided program likely is grossly understated.” Kelley has been leading the fight to end the controversial IRS program.

One of the most serious concerns raised in the TIGTA report, which covers the period from April 2007 through February 2008, deals with the validity of customer service survey data provided by the private collectors.

IRS surveys of taxpayers dealing with the agency’s own customer service employees generate participation rates of between 40 and 42 percent; TIGTA, on the other hand, said in this instance, contractor surveys of customer satisfaction shows participation rates of only 14 percent—about one-third the rate of surveys conducted by the IRS.

The surveys are flawed, said the report, because “the survey selection process detracts from the credibility of the survey results. This occurs because the contractors’ representatives who conduct the collection calls are also responsible for offering the survey, which allows the potential for discretion or discouragement in the selection process (i.e., biased results).”

Another serious issue, TIGTA said, is the continuing discomfort taxpayers are showing over sharing their confidential information with private debt collectors. “That makes it clear that taxpayers would much rather deal with trained and accountable IRS employees,” said President Kelley. “In these days of rampant identity theft, taxpayers would much rather deal with an IRS employee.” More

IRS Announces Cancellation of Files Contract and Return of Work to Agency Employees

The Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) decision to return into the hands of agency employees the work of managing and storing taxpayer files was applauded by the president of the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) who has called for this move since the IRS contracted out the work two years ago.

“This marks the first time since this administration launched its aggressive contracting out program that I have seen a major contract ‘in-sourced,’” said NTEU President Colleen M. Kelley. “Turning over the sensitive work of filing and maintaining tax returns and their related documents and correspondence was a bad idea from the start.”

In the wake of the IRS decision, President Kelley noted that federal agencies have legislative authority to take back in-house work previously contracted out, and she called on agencies to be more assertive in using their contractor oversight responsibilities to reach that conclusion.

“Federal agencies should take a long look at the private-sector companies doing the work of the federal government and bring that work back in-house,” Kelley said. “When federal employees are given the tools and resources to do their jobs, there is no one who can do the work of the federal government better than federal employees.” More