Bilirakis, Panetta, Spanberger, Kelly, Menendez & Cassidy Lead 100 Colleagues in Bipartisan, Bicameral Call for IRS to Address Ongoing Concerns and Processing Delays
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Representatives Gus Bilirakis (R-FL-12),Jimmy Panetta (D-Calif.-20), Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.-07), and Mike Kelly (R-Pa.-16) joined U.S. Senators Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-La.) who are members of the Senate Finance Committee that oversees the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in a bipartisan and bicameral group of 100 colleagues urging the IRS to take immediate steps to improve its service. The lawmakers' letter reiterates ongoing concerns and urges the IRS to provide much needed relief as the agency struggles to address customer service and processing issues. The IRS's lack of action is causing unnecessary confusion, as the current tax filing season is underway.
"As of January 28, 2022, there were 23.7 million unprocessed tax returns and correspondence filed in 2021 and 2022. I've joined a bipartisan group of colleagues to fix this historic problem. As we work to hold the IRS accountable for using every tool at its disposal to resolve this backlog as quickly as possible, we must also end the confusing, auto-generated messages being sent to taxpayers," said Congressman Gus Bilirakis. "These notices are often incorrect and outdated. They also cause the agency to divert resources away from processing returns to manage heavier incoming call volume to the agency."
"We remain concerned that the IRS does not have a comprehensive plan to remedy the numerous problems affecting taxpayers, despite the fact that this filing season is already well underway," wrote the lawmakers to IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig. "For example, there is continued confusion about which notices may be unilaterally suspended by the IRS, beyond the notices the IRS has already suspended, among other issues." In the letter, the lawmakers requested the IRS to specifically address which notices are statutorily required to be issued within a specific time, and why there are still certain notices that have not yet been suspended.
"Since the beginning of tax season, the AICPA, Members of Congress, and various organizations representing taxpayers and practitioners have urged the IRS to take significant and meaningful steps to mitigate the anticipated challenges of this tax season. The AICPA is grateful to Rep. Bilirakis for his persistent efforts to get taxpayers essential relief as we approach the March 15th filing deadline," said AICPA President & CEO, Barry Melancon, CPA, CGMA. "The AICPA stands in support of the letter, led by Rep. Bilirakis, Rep. Kelly, Rep. Higgins, Rep. Spanberger and Rep. Panetta, and signed by 100 Representatives, to Commissioner Rettig urging him to respond to questions and concerns and offer clarification on notice suspensions. The tax season is well under way, and we hope the IRS will heed the widespread calls for meaningful relief and take the necessary steps to ease taxpayers' burden and frustration."
This letter is supported by the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants (AICPA), Padgett Business Services, National Association of Enrolled Agents (NAEA), National Society of Tax Professionals (NSTP), National Society of Accountants (NSA), National Conference of CPA Practitioners (NCCPAP), National Association of Black Accountants (NABA), Latino Tax Professional Association, Diverse Organization of Firms Advocacy Committee, National Society of Black Certified Public Accountants (NSBCPA), Prosperity Now, and National Society of Tax Professionals (NSTP).
These same Members of the House and Senate have been urging the IRS to take immediate actions to reduces its historic backlog and improve its customer service during the 2022 tax filing season. In response, the IRS announced it would be putting together additional surge teams to help address the massive backlogs and continue to improve constituent response.
The full text of the letter can be found here.