U.S. Rep Defends IRS Use of Private Collection Agencies

In a letter to the editor published in Friday?s Washington Post, U.S. Representative Jim Ramstad (R-MN) defended the recent move by the IRS to allow private debt collectors to go after delinquent tax debt.

The letter was primarily a response to an editorial published in the paper on December 9 entitled ?Why Can’t the IRS Do It?? Ramstad states ?This policy is a matter of fairness: You pay your share of taxes; so should everyone else who owes them.? The Congressman also points out that private debt collection firms currently collect for more than 40 states and the U.S. Department of Education.

The letter makes a logical argument for outsourcing the collection function to private firms that specialize in this type of work. ?Highly skilled IRS revenue officers with more complex cases should not spend their valuable time locating and calling taxpayers a private firm can reach more efficiently,? Ramstad states in the letter.

Ramstad also defends the high number of consumer complaints against collection agencies noting that the complaints are but a fraction of the total consumer touches logged by collectors every year. Also, most of the complaints are regarding a small number of firms that are habitual offenders of governing legislation like the FDCPA.

Representative Ramstad has had experience with the bills and bill provisions that proposed the IRS use of private debt collectors. As a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, Ramstad and his colleagues were tasked with drafting, amending and ultimately approving the language that would allow the IRS outsourcing.