Increase Reliable Services Now Act
Bill: S.4832 | Sponsor: Sen. Thune, John (R-SD)
Policy area: Taxation

Summary:
Increase Reliable Services Now Act
This bill imposes limits on Internal Revenue Service (IRS) enforcement activities and hiring.
The bill prohibits the IRS from hiring any person for enforcement activities until the end of a period in which the IRS has maintained for six consecutive months a level of service for accounts management phone lines of not less than 70%, and an average speed of answering phone calls in five minutes or less. The bill also requires that not less than 90% of regular IRS employees perform work in person at their job sites.
The bill prohibits the IRS from auditing taxpayers with taxable incomes below $400,000 at a greater rate than before the enactment of this bill.
Further, the IRS may not hire additional personnel (other than for return processing activities and call center operations) until its tax return processing backlog is not in excess of 1 million cases and it issues tax refunds within six weeks or less after receipt of a tax return.

To temporarily prohibit the hiring of additional Internal Revenue 
   Service employees until a certain level of taxpayer services have 
                   improved, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Increase Reliable Services Now 
Act''.

SEC. 2. TEMPORARY PROHIBITION ON ADDITIONAL TAX ENFORCEMENT PERSONNEL.

    (a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, the 
Internal Revenue Service may not hire any person for the purpose of 
conducting enforcement activities during the period beginning on the 
date of the enactment of this Act and ending on the first date after 
such date on which--
            (1) the Internal Revenue Service has maintained, for 6 
        consecutive months--
                    (A) a level of service for accounts management 
                phone lines of not less than 70 percent; and
                    (B) an average speed of answering calls in 5 
                minutes or less; and
            (2) not less than 90 percent of the regular employees of 
        the Internal Revenue Service perform work in person at their 
        job sites.
    (b) Enforcement Activities.--For purposes of this section, the term 
``enforcement activities'' means activities described in section 
10301(a)(1)(A)(ii) of Public Law 117-169.

SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON USE OF ADDITIONAL INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE FUNDS 
              FOR TAXPAYER AUDITS.

    Section 10301(a)(1)((A)(ii) of Public Law 117-169 is amended by 
inserting before the period at the end the following: ``: Provided 
further, That the Internal Revenue Service shall not audit taxpayers 
with taxable incomes below $400,000 at a greater rate than such 
taxpayers were audited for the most recent taxable year beginning 
before the date of the enactment of this Act''.

SEC. 4. TEMPORARY PROHIBITION ON INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE HIRING.

    (a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, the 
Internal Revenue Service may not hire any person (other than for 
activities related to return processing and call center operations) 
during the period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act 
and ending on the first date after such date on which the Internal 
Revenue Service meets the requirements of subsection (b).
    (b) Requirements.--The requirements specified in this subsection 
are the following:
            (1) With respect to the processing of taxpayer 
        correspondence, tax forms, and payments, the Internal Revenue 
        Service has a backlog not in excess of 1,000,000 cases.
            (2) With respect to tax returns eligible for a refund, 
        refunds are issued to taxpayers on average within six weeks or 
        less of the receipt of the return.
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