Better Service for Taxpayers Act
Bill: H.R.6966 | Sponsor: Rep. Wild, Susan (D-PA)
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics

Summary:
Better Service for Taxpayers Act
This bill requires the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to ensure that (1) each IRS office and division is staffed with employees to answer phone calls during standard business hours; and (2) within 15 business days of receipt of a mailed tax return, the agency acknowledges receipt of such tax return by mailing the taxpayer a hard copy response letter. The letter shall include a phone number for the taxpayer to call with questions and a notification of tax return processing.

To require that the offices of the Internal Revenue Service are staffed 
with employees to answer phone calls during business hours and quickly 
   confirm receipt of hard mail tax returns, 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 ``Better Service for Taxpayers Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The Internal Revenue Service administers and enforces 
        the Federal tax laws of the United States and should seek to 
        continually improve customer service based on taxpayer needs 
        and feedback.
            (2) The people of the United States deserve a communication 
        system with the Internal Revenue Service that is reliable, 
        efficient, accessible, and easy to navigate across multiple 
        channels.
            (3) Many agencies, offices, programs, and Federal employees 
        provide excellent customer experiences to taxpayers. However, 
        many aspects of the Federal Government still fall short on 
        delivering the customer experience that individuals have come 
        to expect from the private sector.
            (4) According to the 2020 American Customer Satisfaction 
        Index Benchmark, which ranges from 0 to 100, the Internal 
        Revenue Service scored at or below average compared to customer 
        satisfaction with other Federal agencies. The average score 
        from individual e-filers was a 76, small business and self-
        employed filers gave an average score of 67, and large business 
        and international filers and individual paper filers gave an 
        average score of 59.
            (5) The amount of funding spent on taxpayer assistance and 
        education decreased by $5,000,000 between fiscal year 2010 and 
        fiscal year 2020. The number of employees providing these 
        services dropped by 29 percent, and the number of customer 
        service representatives decreased by 41 percent.
            (6) The Internal Revenue Service spent nearly 15 percent 
        less during fiscal year 2020 when compared to fiscal year 2010 
        in examinations and collections. During this time period, the 
        number of Internal Revenue Service employees working in this 
        area declined by 32 percent and the number of Internal Revenue 
        Service employees working as revenue agents declined by 40 
        percent.
            (7) Completing the hiring process for prospective Internal 
        Revenue Service employees can take the agency approximately six 
        to eight months.
            (8) Taxpayers will experience an easier, clearer, and 
        quicker tax filing system if the Internal Revenue Service 
        provides more reliable and efficient customer service and 
        taxpayer support services.
            (9) To improve services to taxpayers, the Internal Revenue 
        Service should work across its departments, leverage updated 
        technology to track tax returns, and enhance the customer 
        service experience.

SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) the Internal Revenue Service should improve its 
        taxpayer support services and customer service experiences for 
        the people of the United States. To do this, the Internal 
        Revenue Service must develop an efficient system that enables 
        taxpayers to track the process of their tax submissions and 
        receive timely support when submitting an inquiry to the 
        Internal Revenue Service,
            (2) adequate funding is needed to ensure that Internal 
        Revenue Service workforce, staffing levels, and technological 
        resources can provide the public with improved customer service 
        and problem resolution. A significant portion of Internal 
        Revenue Service funding should be spent on increasing the 
        number of employees in taxpayer-facing positions, including 
        employees working to address taxpayer questions and as customer 
        service staff,
            (3) Congress should appropriate the funding necessary to 
        enable the IRS to achieve these improved standards for taxpayer 
        services and support,
            (4) the Internal Revenue Service should accelerate its 
        hiring timeline for onboarding new employees, to enable an easy 
        career transition for incoming employees and ensure the 
        Internal Revenue Service is not losing prospective employees 
        because of a slow hiring process, and
            (5) the Internal Revenue Service should expedite its 
        ongoing efforts to develop and expand electronic portals, 
        through which taxpayers can check the status of their tax 
        returns and submit inquiries to the Internal Revenue Service.

SEC. 4. TAXPAYER SERVICE REQUIREMENTS.

    (a) Telephone Availability.--The Commissioner of Internal Revenue 
shall ensure that each office and division of the Internal Revenue 
Service is staffed with employees to answer phone calls during standard 
business hours, including 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. local time, Mondays 
through Fridays, excluding Federal holidays.
    (b) Mail Submissions.--The Commissioner of Internal Revenue shall 
ensure that within 15 business days of receipt of a mailed tax return, 
the Internal Revenue Service shall acknowledge receipt of such tax 
return by mailing the taxpayer a hard copy response letter, which shall 
include a phone number for the taxpayer to call with questions and a 
statement notifying the taxpayer that their tax return is being 
processed by the Internal Revenue Service.

SEC. 5. SERVICE REQUIREMENT IMPROVEMENT REPORT.

    Not later than 365 days after the date of the enactment of this 
Act, and annually thereafter, the Commissioner of Internal Revenue 
shall provide an annual report to Congress on the status of its efforts 
to reach the goals of improving services to taxpayers. Such report 
shall include specific progress updates relating to the telephone 
availability requirements of section 4(a) and the mail submissions 
requirements of section 4(b), and may include requests for additional 
support from Congress, as needed, to improve service to taxpayers by 
the Internal Revenue Service.
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