Moreover, since IRS employees have few cost considerations, they often fail to take into account how inconvenient or costly their demands on a taxpayer may be. The management and governance recommendations will increase the likelihood that top management of the IRS will be held accountable for improving taxpayer service. Also, with these performance measures and enhanced personnel flexibility, the IRS will be able to provide incentives to employees who provide taxpayers with quality service, and to discipline employees who do not. Only by focusing the IRS on taxpayer service will we see a true change in the culture of the IRS and the way that taxpayers are treated. While everyone supports the goal of improving service to citizens, I'm sure many, if not most, taxpayers certainly don't feel like they are customers.
Real customers have a choice about the products and services they buy.
Yet taxes are, after all, involuntary payments, and there's no choice about which IRS to use. That's one reason why taxpayers' rights issues are so important. There are many substantial and solid recommendations in the taxpayers' rights portion of the report. I want to emphasize several of the key recommendations of the Commission regarding taxpayers' rights. The Taxpayer Advocate needs more independence and clout.