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WILLIAM A. BARKSDALE,
spokesman, IRS |
the kinder, gentler
THERE'S A NEW
ATTITUDE AT YOUR INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE.
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BY WILLIAM
POE
The next time you call the Internal Revenue Service, you might actually
get through, speak with a polite service representative, and get
a correct answer to your tax question. Then again, you might get
tangled in automated phone menu hell, speak with a rude person,
and get the wrong answer to your question. Some things, it seems,
never change.
Or do they? The IRS says things have changed for the better.
“Things have really changed since the 1998 reorganization,” says
William A. Barksdale, an IRS spokesman for the region. “We work
for you. There’s no reason to be afraid of the IRS.”
For their part, two local tax advisers have seen a definite improvement
in IRS attitudes but differ on the effectiveness of IRS procedures
and resources.
JOHN P. DEAL
CPA and managing director, Botz Deal & Co. |
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“We have found a positive shift in attitude,” says John P. Deal,
a CPA and managing director of the accounting firm of Botz Deal
& Co. “The people we’ve been dealing with have been as helpful and
as accommodating as they can be.”
“I have seen a change in attitude” agrees Roy Kramer, a CPA and
tax partner with the accounting firm of Brown Smith Wallace LLC.
“The IRS agents I deal with are professional and, even in an adversarial
situation, they are friendly and not as argumentative as in the
past.”
The past refers to the IRS before 1998 Congressional approval of
the IRS Restructuring and Reform Act, which was the result of a
series of Senate hearings during which witness after witness lobbed
veritable hand grenades at the IRS. The government also brought
in Charles O. Rossotti to try to fix the troubled tax collection
agency.
There is little doubt that parts of the IRS have been improved.
Barksdale points to fewer audits being conducted by the agency,
electronic filing of returns, new initiatives to help protect taxpayers
from fraud, formation of a Taxpayer Advocacy Panel, and a drive
to help low-income residents collect tax credits, with which the
RCGA is a partner. Deal says that the establishment of dedicated
phone lines for tax preparers and a Form 1040 check off box allowing
the IRS to speak with the preparer, rather than bother the taxpayer,
have been godsends. And Kramer says that a movement away from “micro-auditing”
and the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel have had a positive impact.
The Taxpayer Advocate Service, a post-1998 independent organization
within the IRS, helps individuals and businesses solve tax problems
and recommends changes to mitigate taxpayer problems. The service
receives high marks from accountants and tax attorneys.
“The advocacy office has had a positive impact,” says Kramer whose
firm prepares some 3,000 tax returns each year. “It’s very helpful
for a practitioner and a taxpayer to go to a caseworker who can
answer your questions right away. They really have been a good group
to work with.”
Most taxpayers should be relieved to know that the IRS has shifted
its audit priorities away from ordinary wage earners. Barksdale
says new audit targets include what he calls “high-risk, high-income
taxpayers,” offshore credit card users, high-income non-filers,
and taxpayers with unreported income. And, while Barksdale says
the shift in audit priorities is a sign of the “kinder, gentler
IRS,” others say that the IRS is simply shifting its audit focus
because the agency has lost auditors and has not been given adequate
resources to keep up with a rising number of tax returns.
In fact, the New York Times reports that the agency’s auditing
staff has shrunk by 29 percent since 1995 while the number of tax
returns grew by 13 percent. Pressure from Congress prompted the
IRS to divert many of its law enforcement resources to functions
such as answering phone calls from taxpayers.
But maybe the IRS still needs more people on the phones. Kramer
says that most taxpayers, who receive official notices about problems
with their returns, find that “getting through to the IRS is next
to impossible. You can’t get anyone on the phone, and the assumption
is that you are guilty until proven innocent.”
Kramer also says the IRS is taking too long to process amended returns
filed because of tax code changes enacted to benefit taxpayers.
One change last year, for instance, allows small businesses to calculate
tax liability using the cash method of accounting, rather than the
accrual method.
“This is a big, big tax benefit for small businesses,” Kramer says.
“I’ve got clients waiting for refunds or credits that they could
use to keep their businesses running. Six to eight weeks is a reasonable
time for processing, but not the six to eight months that we’re
seeing.”
“I
have seen a change in attitude. The IRS agents I deal
with are professional and, even in an adversarial
situation, they are friendly and not as argumentative
as in the past.”
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Roy
Kramer
CPA and tax partner,
Brown Smith Wallace, LLC
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For his part, Deal says that his firm, which has offices in St.
Charles, St. Peters and Wentzville, has had no trouble with timely
processing of amended returns.
“We received the refunds quickly,” Deal says.
Deal also compliments the IRS for its web site (www.irs.gov),
which he calls terrific.
Indeed, the site features partitioned information for individuals,
businesses, charities and not-for-profit organizations, government
entities, and tax professionals. The site contains tax tips, fact
sheets, consumer alerts, tax shelter information, and taxpayer advocacy
links. Consumers can even check on the status of refunds, access
a withholding calculator and even play “Braintaxer,” a game to test
knowledge of tax issues.
Better yet, the site is the place to begin the possibility of preparing
and filing taxes electronically at no charge. Under a new agreement
with computer software companies, some taxpayers can access tax
preparation software that formerly had to be purchased.
“More people ought to take a look at the web site,” Barksdale says.
“There are a lot of cool things on it.”
There you have it. The IRS may or may not be gentler and kinder
but it’s definitely “cool.”
William V. Poe is principal of Poe Communications, a St. Louis
advertising and marketing communications firm. |
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