Is an IRS Reorganization a Possibility?

Many people are unaware that, from time to time, the IRS actually restructures itself. The last time that this happened was back in 1998 when the IRS Restructuring and Reform Act was passed. Lots of major changes were made with this restructuring, some of which included:  

l  The replacement of regional divisions of the IRS with units instead assigned to taxpayer categories

l  A 5 year term of office for the IRS commissioner

l  The national taxpayer advocate being appointed by the secretary of the treasury

l  The creation of an IRS oversight board

While many people thought, at the time, that this last restructuring covered all of the bases and was the end-all, be-all of restructuring, that is not necessarily true. In fact, right now, there is a focus on restructuring the IRS yet again.

This new determination to restructure can be seen in the fact that the House of Representatives recently passed several IRS reform bills, which includes the much discussed Taxpayer First Act. Under this new reform, the IRS has to submit a comprehensive customer service strategy to Congress a year after enacting one. The organization also has to prepare a plan for redesigning IRS organization, which has to be submitted by 2020.

What Does Restructuring Hope to Accomplish?

It is obvious, from the information revealed above, that IRS reorganization is coming. However, what is the purpose? Why the push to reform?

While it’s not likely that even the best and most thorough reorganization could have all of the desired results, there are some key goals that will hopefully be accomplished, at least partially, through reorganization. These goals include:

l  Improving and streamlining IRS structure

l  Improving customer service and relations

l  Guarding against cybersecurity threats, a growing concern

l  Prioritizing taxpayer services

Of course, only time will tell what the IRS will do and how effective it will be, but, if all goes according to plan, things could get much better for American taxpayers.