The House of Representatives yesterday passed a pair of bills aimed at overhauling the Internal Revenue Service and one of those bills included provisions that will change how the agency places unpaid tax debts with contracted private collection agencies.
The Taxpayer First Act, H.R. 5444, was approved unanimously yesterday by the House, 414-0. Among the changes being made to the IRS as part of the bill, which accounts are chosen to be placed with private collection agencies would be amended.
The provision in question would only allow the IRS to place an account with a collection agency if the individual with the unpaid debt has an adjusted gross income that is at least 250% of the applicable poverty level.
A report that was published in January from the IRS’s Taxpayer Advocate indicated that, for some reason, nearly 20% of the cases being placed with private collection agencies were for individuals with incomes below the federal poverty line, which starts at about $14,000 for a one-person household.
The crux of both bills that passed the House yesterday were aimed at improving customer service and information security at the IRS. For example, the bill would require the IRS to establish a callback service when its phone lines are busy. The bill would also require the IRS create an office to manage disputes from taxpayers.
