Shaheen joins colleagues in continuing to push IRS to clear unprecedented backlogs, resolve customer service issues
WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) joined a bipartisan and bicameral group of 89 colleagues in reiterating their push for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to resolve customer services issues. Specially, the letter urges the agency to eliminate the ongoing, unprecedented processing delays, improve customer service, extend the suspension of automated notices and collections, and continue making maximum use of overtime and surge teams.
“Since last year, numerous Members of Congress in the House and Senate have sent several letters regarding customer service issues, processing delays, and the outstanding backlog of returns,” wrote the bicameral group of lawmakers to IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig. “Yet, we are writing again to urge the IRS to extend the suspension of automated collections, continue the pause on automated notices, keep its surge teams in place until hiring challenges and processing backlogs are adequately addressed.”
The lawmakers added, “[W]e believe that the IRS must take additional steps to improve customer service issues, decrease processing delays, and work-down the backlog of paper returns and correspondence by continuing the maximum use of overtime and surge teams, as well as the continued suspension of automated notices and collections–which have been critical in reducing pandemic-related tax return and correspondence backlogs.”
Shaheen has continuously called for the IRS to institute additional actions to address the backlog of unprocessed tax returns. In a February letter sent to IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig, Shaheen and her colleagues highlighted the pressing challenges that American taxpayers are experiencing in their day-to-day interactions with the IRS — with many constituents still waiting on their 2020 tax refunds. They pressed the agency to take new actions that can reduce the existing backlog and improve customer service. The recently passed Inflation Reduction Act includes funding to improve processes and technology at the IRS to better serve taxpayers filing their tax returns. These resources will go toward taxpayer services, operations and support and systems modernization to help address systemic issues at the IRS – all to ensure Granite Staters receive their tax returns and information in a more timely, responsive manner.