IRS Private Collection Initiative Already Yielding Results

by Patrick Lunsford, CollectionIndustry.com

The U.S. Treasury Department issued a report to Congress yesterday detailing their plan to collect unpaid taxes. In testimony supporting the report, IRS Commissioner Mark Everson revealed that private collection agencies had already yielded positive results in going after long-overdue taxes.

Everson was making a point that the IRS was already trying new things to help close the tax gap ? a measurement of the amount of taxes owed but not paid. He said that the contentious private collection program has already brought in some $500,000 from 250 different taxpayers. The program began roughly three weeks ago.

The bulk of the Treasury report focuses on measures such as upgrading IRS computer systems, simplifying tax codes, and researching the underlying causes of tax evasion.