The IRS' declining ability to answer telephone calls was identified as the most serious problem facing taxpayers in National Taxpayer Advocate Nina E. Olson's latest annual report to Congress.
In her report, Taxpayer Advocate Nina E. Olson noted that the IRS had set a target for the 2010 tax season of answering only 71 percent of calls from taxpayers seeking to speak with a customer service representative, down from 83 percent in 2007.
"In other words, the IRS is planning to be unable to answer about three of every 10 calls it receives," Olson said in her report, adding that the IRS expects those who get through will have to wait on hold an average of 12 minutes. The report further states that this projected level of telephone response service is barely above the level of 69 percent notched in 1998, when Congress passed the landmark IRS Restructuring and Reform Act intended to improve inadequate taxpayer service. "This level of service is unacceptable," Olson wrote.
Also See:
IRS Help from the U.S. Taxpayer Advocate Service
Federal Advocate Speaks Up for Struggling Taxpayers
Taxpayer Advocate Calls for Changes
Comments
Why would anyone call the IRS to answer tax questions? There are some sharp people there, but the people that answer the phones are not tax experts. Even the IRS auditors make tons of mistakes out of ignorance.