The IRS also wants to ramp up staffing to handle audits for high-income taxpayers, large corporations and complex partnerships. The agency said it needs to address a “growing chasm” between the roughly 2,600 emplloyees who audit high-income, high-wealth tax filings and about  30,000 individuals making more than $10 million a year, 60,000 large corporations and 300,000 large partnerships and S corps.

And outdated systems in core operations need to be updated to ensure the IRS “has the most modern and robust security in technology to protect taxpayer data.”

The IRS announcement noted that Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen had issued a directive to not raise audit rates about historical levels for small businesses and households making less than $400,000. So as it implements the plan, the agency will focus on “pursuing high-income and high-wealth individuals, complex partnerships and large corporations that are not paying the taxes they owe.”

The plan has the following five objectives:                                                                                                                                                                                                      *Dramatically improve services to help taxpayers meet obligations and receive tax incentives for which they are eligible.                                                                                  *Quickly resolve taxpayer issues.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  *Focus expanded enforcement on taxpayers with complex tax filings and high-dollar noncompliance.                                                                                                                            *Deliver cutting-edge technology, data and analytics to operate more effectively; and                                                                                                                                          *Attract, retain and empower a highly skilled, diverse workforce and develop a culture better equipped to deliver results for taxpayers.

There are 42 initiatives in the plan which encompasses m than more than 190 key projects and more than 200 specific milestones and the IRS will identify additional projects and milestones as work continues. 

IRS commissioner Danny Werfel pointed to improvements in service stemming from increased funding. “Taxpayers and tax professionals can see the difference as we have dramatically improved our phone service thanks to more staff,” he said in a prepared statement. “More walk-in services are available across the country. New digital tools have been added. And these are just first steps.”

Bob Scott

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Bob Scott has provided information to the tax and accounting community since 1991, first as technology editor of Accounting Today, and from 1997 through 2009 as editor of its sister publication, Accounting Technology. He is known throughout the industry for his depth of knowledge and for his high journalistic standards.  Scott has made frequent appearances as a speaker, moderator and panelist and events serving tax and accounting professionals. He  has a strong background in computer journalism as an editor with two former trade publications, Computer+Software News and MIS Week and spent several years with weekly and daily newspapers in Morris County New Jersey prior to that.  A graduate of Indiana University with a degree in journalism, Bob is a native of Madison, Ind