A group of lawmakers recently forwarded correspondence to IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig, encouraging the agency to address backlogs while enhancing customer service.
U.S. Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Bob Menendez (D-NJ) joined U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) and a host of congressional colleagues in penning the letter, which addressed challenges taxpayers are experiencing in daily interactions with the IRS.
“As the IRS works to eliminate the current backlog of returns and correspondence, we request you to pursue additional actions to maximize the IRS’ current workforce to address the backlog in order to reduce disruptions this filing season,” the lawmakers wrote.
The lawmakers offered a series of policy considerations within the correspondence, including pursuing maximum overtime options for staff working on the backlog for those who do not already have maximum overtime flexibilities, allowing additional employees to volunteer to join surge teams, and extending overtime options for additional surge team employees.
“We understand the long-term solution to ensure the IRS can manage its workload and provide timely and high-quality service to taxpayers is additional resources to hire and train employees across several departments and modernize technologies,” the lawmakers concluded. “However, those investments will take time, and taxpayers require more immediate relief, especially with the 2022 filing season already underway.”