Does anyone really like the IRS' private debt collection program except the folks who are making money off of it? Apparently not. Yesterday, the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel, an independent federal advisory panel made up of taxpayers from every state, released recommendations that the IRS "abandon all plans to outsource any taxpayer debts and restrict collection activities to properly trained and proficient IRS personnel." It's pretty clear where they stand on the program. The Taxpayer Advocacy Panel also stressed other concerns about the program, particularly that private collection agency staff had different values and attitudes in approaching debt collection, which hurt customer satisfaction and service: The collection agency staff did not share the same values and partnership attitudes that were practiced by the employees of the selling organization. Over time, the function of managing the contractor's collection activities became more time consuming than handling the function internally. Add yet another group to those fighting against this program. Let's hope its days are numbered.