Internal Revenue Service (IRS)

House Relentless in Pursuing Contracting Reforms

In the last several weeks, the House has continued its efforts to address federal contracting reform. With bills stalling in the Senate, the House has begun to attach various reform provisions to legislative vehicles that are more likely to be enacted into law this year. Marrying these proposals to the war supplemental bill and the Defense Authorization bill, for example, greatly increases the chances these important reforms will be implemented in 2008.

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Private Debt Collection Fables

Jul 18, 2007 by Matt Lewis

A favorite canard put forward by the defenders of the IRS private tax collection program is that there's no other way to collect these taxes (watch a hearing on the issue here). If Congress gave IRS the resources it needed to pursue these cases, IRS administrators would instead direct the money to functions that would yield a greater return-on-investment.

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Private Tax Collection Program Remains

Jun 29, 2007 by Matt Lewis

BNA ($) on how the private debt collection program wasn't killed yesterday:

The House passed the Financial Services and General Government appropriations bill (H.R. 2829) June 28 on a vote of 240-179 after House Democrats yielded to concerns about plans to shut down the Internal Revenue Service's private debt collection program.

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Congressional Hearing Reveals Flaws in Outsourcing Tax Debt Collection

On May 23, the House Ways and Means Committee heard testimony on the Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) private debt collection program that lets outside contractors pursue federal tax debts. At the hearing, Chairman Charles Rangel (D-NY) requested that the IRS not issue additional contracts to private collection agencies (PCAs).

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Support Mounts to End IRS Privatization Program

Key politicians and advocacy groups are lining up against an IRS program to privatize tax collections, as suspect contracts have raised further concerns about the effectiveness and transparency of the program.

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Congress Seeks to End IRS Privatization Program

Legislation has been introduced in the House and Senate that would halt an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) program that outsources certain tax collection responsibilities to private companies. The costly and dangerous program has been soundly criticized by Congress, the IRS National Taxpayer Advocate, and outside consumer groups since it began last fall.

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IRS Commissioner Everson Pursues Failed Scheme

Sep 8, 2006 by Craig Jennings

To keep you informed of IRS Commissioner Mark Everson's latest antics, we bring you this from American Public Media's Marketplace. Yesterday, they aired a great piece on the outsourcing of IRS collections. The nut of the story is this: The IRS wants to outsource the job of collecting outstanding taxes due and let the collection agency keep a percent of haul.

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Self-Interested Group Attack Limits on Outsourcing Tax Collection

Jul 19, 2006 by Adam Hughes*

In advance of a Senate Appropriations subcommittee markup, opponents of current efforts to prohibit the IRS from outsourcing its collection of outstanding taxes have come out in force. The head of the Association of Credit and Collection Professionals sent a letter to Senate appropriators on July 14 asking them to oppose any amendment that would prohibit the IRS from using any of its fiscal year 2007 funds to hire private debt collectors.

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A Step In The Right Direction

Jun 15, 2006 by Adam Hughes*

The House inched closer toward fiscal sanity yesterday when it voted to ban the IRS’s costly practice of using private collection agencies to collect uncontested tax debts.

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Talk About Waste, Fraud, and Abuse...

Mar 31, 2006 by Adam Hughes*

Here's an item that, unfortunately, won't get mentioned at the next Republican-sponsored "waste, fraud, and abuse in government" hearing on Capitol Hill. IRS Commissioner Mark Everson testified before Congress this week that it will cost significantly more money to use private companies to collect outstanding taxes than it would to hire additional IRS agents.

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