At a meeting with the IRS on the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) in November, APA emphasized the need for outreach to the regulated community, training of existing and new IRS employees, and modernization.
The IRA provides the IRS with $80 billion in funding over the next 10 years. About 50% of the funds are identified for enforcement. During the meeting, the IRS defined enforcement more broadly with a focus on customer service. The intent, according to the IRS, is to help taxpayers comply and avoid the need for an audit.
In many situations, payroll professionals who contact the IRS are unsuccessful in communicating their employers’ tax issue. The callers may be bounced around to different IRS employees. If phone assisters understood payroll operations a little better, they may be able to answer questions or transfer the caller to the appropriate IRS employee who can help, APA said.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen asked the IRS to provide a report by mid-February on how it plans to spend the $80 billion. With this short timeframe, the IRS is relying on recommendations previously made by stakeholders, including the APA, and is holding a few stakeholder meetings specific to the IRA to garner as much information as quickly as possible. Additional stakeholder meetings will occur after the report is delivered to the Treasury Department as part of an ongoing dialog.
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Alice P. Jacobsohn, Esq., is Director of Government Relations for the APA.
