GAO evaluates IRS reorganization plan.

• Author: Taylor, David
• Position: Government Accountability Office

The Taxpayer First Act (TFA), P.L. 116-25, required the IRS to submit a comprehensive plan to redesign and reorganize the IRS to Congress by Sept. 30, 2020. Due to delays caused by COVID-19, the IRS submitted its plan in January 2021. In November 2020, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report assessing the IRS's implementation plan (Rep't No. GAO-21-18).

The IRS's first significant action in the reorganization process was to establish the Taxpayer First Act Office (TFAO) with senior leaders from across the IRS, including the chief of staff to the IRS commissioner. The TFAO meets regularly with management and staff at different levels of the organization to report on progress and challenges. After gathering feedback from a variety of sources, the TFAO found that the majority of the feedback fell into five categories:

* The taxpayer experience: Aligning the IRS taxpayer service with the experience expected from modernized companies;

* Training: Updating the Internal Revenue Manual, training delivery, soft skills, cross training, and professional opportunities;

* Organizational redesign: Recommendations for the consolidation of business units, and areas where units should be reduced or expanded;

* Modernization: Recommendations to upgrade IT infrastructure or equipment; and

* General: Requests for TFAO support and/or feedback not specific to the TFA.

Overall, the GAO report found that the IRS has involved its employees and key stakeholders and has considered appropriate data and evidence. And leadership within the IRS is appropriately focused on the reorganization process. The GAO report also notes that the IRS has only partially addressed other issues, so the report recommended the IRS should fully develop goals, actions, and performance measures related to:

* The desired goals and outcomes of the reorganization;

* Fragmentation, overlap, and duplication within the IRS; and

* High-risk areas and long-standing management challenges.

The November 2020 GAO report draws mainly on its prior reports on the IRS's operations, along with recent interviews with current and former IRS personnel and other stakeholders. The report describes the challenges and options to improve the IRS's structure, processes, and operations in the areas of:

* Customer service;

* Communication and coordination within the IRS;

* Technology; and

* Human capital management and training.

Customer service

In the area of customer service, the GAO...