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.