Washington Tax Officials Face Low Staff, More Disputes (Correct)

Staffing shortages and record numbers of new tax disputes have led to a 31% increase in the number of administrative cases at the Washington Department of Revenue over the past five years.

The DOR Administrative Review and Hearings Division was last fully staffed in 2019, when it had 17 tax review officers , program manager Tina Poley told attendees of the Washington State Tax Forum on Friday. At the time, the division had 650 cases in its inventory. It now has more than 850.

• Staffing dipped during the Covid-19 pandemic to a low of 11 officers in 2022, but ...