Pandemic Highlights IRS Need for Sustainable Funding Levels

Congress will need to set sustainable funding levels if the IRS is to improve the taxpayer experience, enhance filing security, and close gaps in its digital systems, an advisory committee said in a report Wednesday.

Covid-19 restrictions and weather events across the U.S. that shuttered or limited operations revealed several weaknesses, according to the Electronic Tax Administration Advisory Committee’s annual report to Congress. Among them: Eliminating paper processing, focusing on continuous process improvement, and digital solutions are needed “to better the taxpayer experience,”

The report comes as President Joe Biden’s administration has called on Congress to increase IRS funding, in ...