six steps to making it happen.
by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research
it’s hard to comprehend the job that the internal revenue service performs. every year, more than a quarter billion tax returns flood into the agency’s complex of pipelines. some 10,400 employees get to work on “submission processing.”
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in most cases, one of the pipelines leads back to the taxpayer with a timely refund or a notice of additional tax liability.
but in many cases, glitches in the system burden taxpayers with onerous and frustrating challenges.
- e-filed returns get rejected, often for no good reason, and then they may have to be filed on paper.
- paper returns – 76 million in a year, not to mention 125 million correspondence submissions – flow like molasses in january as more than a dozen irs employees deal with each one.
- it’s hard to correct errors once a return is in the process pipe.
- amended returns move at a glacial pace.
- online accounts make it hard to find information.
- notices and letters are often confusing, leading to even more problems.
a huge lift
national taxpayer advocate erin m. collins says this has got to stop.
“although it would be a huge lift, the irs must transform its submission processing and accounts management functions to enhance efficiency, improve the taxpayer experience and reduce errors, which would encourage compliance and reduce operational costs,” collins says in her annual report to congress. “it must embrace technology and transform its outdated practices into a streamlined, secure and user-friendly tax system that serves all americans effectively.”
it’s a big lift indeed, and not a cheap one. but it’s technically possible and, to comply with the congressionally mandated taxpayer bill of rights, it is technically obligatory.
modernization of the irs legally needs to be done, technically can be done and therefore, for the sake of compliance, should be done.
here’s how
here’s how it can be done, according to the nta.
- implement widespread scanning of paper returns. a lot are being scanned already, but the current scanning technology can be upgraded and more equipment can be deployed.
- allow taxpayers to correct return errors to avoid e-file rejections. let them make corrections digitally before the rejection rather than rejecting the digital return and requiring a paper return.
- modernize self-service tools such as individual online accounts, direct file, where’s my refund and where’s my amended return. if these tools offered more and clearer information and more options for action, processes could avoid human intervention. and let overseas taxpayers access all these tools, which currently they can’t.
- automate processing of amended returns. why require a paper form that must subsequently be scanned or manually digitized? why not have a box on the 1040 to indicate that it is an amended return?
- work with the social security administration to integrate documents with e-filing software.
- make it possible and easier for the irs and taxpayers to communicate digitally.
an imperative
“the modernization and automation of the irs’s tax processing system is not just an opportunity;” collins says in her report. “it is an imperative to improve tax administration, protect taxpayer rights and provide quality service … the time has come for the irs to utilize technology to transform its outdated practices into a streamlined, secure and user-friendly tax system that serves all americans effectively.”