Tax System Modernization:
An Assessment of IRS' Design Master Plan
IMTEC-91-53BR: Published: Jun 25, 1991. Publicly Released: Jun 25, 1991.
Additional Materials:
- Full Report:
Contact:
GAO analyzed the Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) Design Master Plan for its Tax System Modernization (TSM) program, focusing on: (1) business vision; (2) key planning components; (3) accountability; (4) risk management; and (5) technical personnel needs.
GAO found that: (1) although the plan made no reference to an IRS business vision, IRS acknowledged that it should comprehensibly state and integrate such a vision in the baseline plan; (2) there were no detailed strategies or set standards for integrating the modernized systems; (3) IRS identified implementation plans, but transition plans were incomplete; (4) although the plan established modernization priorities, some priorities changed since the September 1990 draft plan; (5) objectives for meeting goals and setting milestones were incomplete; (6) the plan did not specify the IRS organizations responsible for the major TSM initiatives; (7) the plan partially discussed security risks, but failed to discuss taxpayer privacy risks; (8) the plan did not address technology availability and breakthrough risks; (9) although the plan stated the need for a staff with strong technical skills, it did not identify the specific types of technical disciplines needed or provide a personnel recruiting, training, and retention strategy; and (10) IRS planned to incorporate such issues as IRS business vision, monitoring, and security and technology risks into its September 1991 baseline plan and make periodic updates to address remaining issues as they developed.
Jan 14, 2021
Tax Administration:
Better Coordination Could Improve IRS's Use of Third-Party Information Reporting to Help Reduce the Tax GapGAO-21-102: Published: Dec 15, 2020. Publicly Released: Jan 14, 2021.
Nov 18, 2020
-
IRS Reorganization:
Planning Addressed Key Reform Practices, but Goals and Measures for the Plan Have Not Been FinalizedGAO-21-18: Published: Oct 19, 2020. Publicly Released: Nov 18, 2020.
Nov 9, 2020
-
Opportunity Zones:
Improved Oversight Needed to Evaluate Tax Expenditure PerformanceGAO-21-30: Published: Oct 8, 2020. Publicly Released: Nov 9, 2020.
Oct 19, 2020
-
Tax Administration:
Opportunities Exist to Improve Oversight of Hospitals' Tax-Exempt StatusGAO-20-679: Published: Sep 17, 2020. Publicly Released: Oct 19, 2020.
Sep 23, 2020
-
Taxpayer Service:
IRS Could Improve the Taxpayer Experience by Using Better Service Performance MeasuresGAO-20-656: Published: Sep 23, 2020. Publicly Released: Sep 23, 2020.
Aug 31, 2020
-
Abusive Tax Schemes:
Offshore Insurance Products and Associated Compliance RisksGAO-20-589: Published: Jul 30, 2020. Publicly Released: Aug 31, 2020.
Jun 29, 2020
-
Taxpayer Compliance:
More Income Reporting Needed for Taxpayers Working through Online PlatformsGAO-20-366: Published: May 28, 2020. Publicly Released: Jun 29, 2020.
Jun 16, 2020
-
Tax Exempt Organizations:
IRS Increasingly Uses Data in Examination Selection, but Could Further Improve Selection ProcessesGAO-20-454: Published: Jun 16, 2020. Publicly Released: Jun 16, 2020.
May 1, 2020
-
Management Report:
Improvements Are Needed to Enhance the Internal Revenue Service's Internal Control over Financial ReportingGAO-20-480R: Published: May 1, 2020. Publicly Released: May 1, 2020.
Apr 30, 2020
-
Priority Open Recommendations:
Internal Revenue ServiceGAO-20-548PR: Published: Apr 23, 2020. Publicly Released: Apr 30, 2020.
Looking for more? Browse all our products here
Explore our Key Issues on Tax Policy and Administration
Explore our other Key Issues here
