Increase Reliable Services Now Act

Bill: 117-s-4832
Sponsor: full_name: Sen. Thune, John [R-SD]
Introduced: 2022-09-13
Policy area: Taxation
Latest action: action_date: 2022-09-13
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance. (text: CR S4578)

Summaries:
action_date: 2022-09-13
action_desc: Introduced in Senate
text: <p> <strong>Increase Reliable Services Now Act </strong></p> <p>This bill imposes limits on Internal Revenue Service (IRS) enforcement activities and hiring. </p> <p>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. </p> <p>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. </p> <p>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.</p>

tv_txt: II 117th CONGRESS 2d Session S. 4832 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES September 13, 2022 Mr. Thune (for himself and Ms. Collins ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance A BILL To temporarily prohibit the hiring of additional Internal Revenue Service employees until a certain level of taxpayer services have improved, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Increase Reliable Services Now Act . 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 . 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 . 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.