IRS Modernization:
Long-term Effort Under Way, but Significant Challenges Remain
T-GGD/AIMD-00-154: Published: May 3, 2000. Publicly Released: May 3, 2000.
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Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO discussed the Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) progress in implementing its modernization effort and the challenges that remain.
GAO noted that: (1) IRS is as challenged an agency today as it was almost 2 years ago when the IRS Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998 was passed; (2) IRS continues to face serious operational issues in its two key mission areas--enforcement and customer service; (3) for example, deficiencies in controls to properly manage billions of dollars in unpaid tax assessments have resulted in both taxpayer burden and potentially billions of dollars in lost revenue to the government; (4) also, taxpayers continue to be frustrated with their inability to reach IRS by telephone; (5) once they do get through, taxpayers are further frustrated by IRS employees' inability to quickly and accurately answer questions and resolve problems; (6) root causes underlying these problems are complex, interrelated, and long-standing and reflect weaknesses in fundamental IRS operations, such as its organizational structure, information systems, performance management system, and human capital management; (7) recognizing the complex and interdependent nature of its long-standing problems, IRS has developed a massive modernization effort--encompassing major changes to its organizational structure, performance management system, information systems, and business practices; (8) about 2 years into a process that will likely take more than a decade, IRS has begun to lay a foundation that should facilitate further changes to IRS' business practices; (9) however, substantial challenges remain in the areas of performance management and information systems modernization; (10) for example, some initial systems modernization work fell short of expectations, and IRS is trying to get it back on track; (11) as Congress recognized in the Clinger-Cohen Act, it is best practice to manage long-term modernization efforts incrementally and to measure progress against incremental goals; (12) IRS is following such an incremental approach in implementing its modernization effort and certain areas will be critical to monitor for progress over the next year; and (13) these areas include, among others, improvements in enforcement and customer service performance and fulfillment of systems modernization commitments.
Jan 14, 2021
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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
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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
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Opportunity Zones:
Improved Oversight Needed to Evaluate Tax Expenditure PerformanceGAO-21-30: Published: Oct 8, 2020. Publicly Released: Nov 9, 2020.
Oct 19, 2020
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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
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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
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Abusive Tax Schemes:
Offshore Insurance Products and Associated Compliance RisksGAO-20-589: Published: Jul 30, 2020. Publicly Released: Aug 31, 2020.
Jun 29, 2020
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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
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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
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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
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Priority Open Recommendations:
Internal Revenue ServiceGAO-20-548PR: Published: Apr 23, 2020. Publicly Released: Apr 30, 2020.
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