Improved IRS website.

• Author: Laffie, Lesli S.
• Position: Small-business community Internet web site

IR-2001-26 announces the IRS's new small-business community Website, another sign of the agency's efforts to modernize and better serve taxpayers. With a vastly improved online service, the site will specifically assist the nation's 45 million small-business and self-employed taxpayers with user-friendly guidance on an array of basic tax questions and issues.

The site represents the first stage in revamping the entire site to deliver on the agency's commitment to better serve taxpayers.

According to the IRS, the new Website is directly linked to the agency's new focus. Nearly three years ago, Congress passed the Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998, directing the agency to do a better job of meeting taxpayers' needs. Since then, the IRS has launched an ambitious modernization plan to improve the agency's operations and ensure that taxes are collected efficiently and fairly. The Service has already reformed its structure to better meet taxpayer needs; many other improvements--including modernizing technology--are yet to come.

Currently, visitors to the site will still see "The Digital Daily," which has served as the IRS Web portal since 1996, but will follow different instructions to reach the business-specific content. Ultimately, the IRS will revamp the entire site with new sections and improved functionality for individual filers, large corporations and tax-exempt organizations.

Among the...