The Obama administration Feb. 1 released its fiscal year 2011 budget requests, asking for more than $12.6 billion for the Internal Revenue Service to implement programs to meet its key strategic goals.
The IRS budget request?an increase over Obama’s fiscal 2010 request for $12.147 billion?includes an allocation increase of $293 million to IRS’s enforcement program to continue work to close the tax gap, which the administration called an investment in a strong compliance program.
The administration requested $386.9 million for IRS’s business systems modernization program to finish the new taxpayer account database and maintain investment in electronic filing systems. Completion of the database will expedite refunds to 140 million individual taxpayers and will allow IRS to broaden its online services to manage growing taxpayer service demands, according to the budget.
The administration’s budget proposes an increase of more than $43 million to IRS’s taxpayer services account, providing more resources for ?high-quality phone service? and technological enhancements that will boost electronic filing capabilities by making more electronic forms available. Presumably, this will help address the pesky situation where the IRS is unable to even answer ?much less respond to?30% of the telephone calls it receives.
If only the people answering the telephones would be happy-priceless