“In the past few years alone, the IRS has targeted groups based on their political beliefs, was rebuked by a U.S. Court of Appeals for political targeting, selectively enforced the law, sent out $46 million in potentially fraudulent tax refunds, and answered only 15.6 percent of the calls made to them during the height of tax filing season this year. And on top of all of that, thousands of IRS employees are delinquent on their own taxes.”
McCarthy added that, despite the IRS’s issues, it pats itself on the back with bonuses.
“What happened as a result of all of this? The IRS gave out $6 million in bonuses to employees. Essentially, the IRS can’t answer phone calls from taxpayers, but they can take bonuses from taxpayers. IRS employees won’t pay their own taxes but they’re trusted with collecting others’ taxes.”
To fix the IRS, several congressmen will be releasing a series of legislation targeting issues like employee incompetence, poor customer service, and lack of transparency.
“In the week following Tax Day, House Republicans will send a clear message to the IRS: clean up your act, because this is only the beginning. Accountability isn’t an option in government; it’s a necessity. Only with a thoroughly reformed IRS and eventually a simplified and fair tax code can taxpayers again trust that the government is not only working efficiently, but is working for them.”
The Hill reports that the Obama administration has already opposed the measures, all of which are focused on government accountability.
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) argues, “[t]hese bills would impose unnecessary constraints on the Internal Revenue Service’s … operations without improving the agency’s ability to administer the tax code and serve taxpayers.”
The statement is not without irony, as the Obama administration hasn’t shied from imposing onerous regulations on businesses.
