Increase Reliable Services Now Act

Bill: 118-s-1337
Sponsor: full_name: Sen. Thune, John [R-SD]
Introduced: 2023-04-27
Policy area: Taxation
Latest action: action_date: 2023-04-27
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance. (text: CR S1420-1421)

Summaries:
action_date: 2023-04-27
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 6 consecutive months a level of access for phone lines of not less than 90%, and an average speed of answering calls in 4 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 5 million cases and it issues tax refunds within 6 weeks or less after receipt of a tax return.</p>

tv_txt: II 118th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 1337 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES April 27, 2023 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 access for accounts management phone lines of not less than 90 percent; and (B) an average speed of answering enterprise-wide calls in 4 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) Definitions For purposes of this section— (1) Enforcement activities The term enforcement activities means activities described in section 10301(a)(1)(A)(ii) of Public Law 117–169 . (2) Level of access The term level of access means a telephone performance measure that reflects overall taxpayer call demand and Internal Revenue Service assistance and is calculated by dividing— (A) the sum of assistor calls answered and the automated calls answered; by (B) the total dialed number attempts (not including any dialed number attempts after hours). 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 completion of processing original and amended tax returns, the completion of processing suspended tax returns, and the resolution of accounts management cases, the Internal Revenue Service has an aggregate inventory not in excess of 5,000,000 items as of the close of any calendar quarter. (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. 5. Reports (a) In general Not later than 7 days after the last day of each calendar quarter beginning during the applicable period, the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, in consultation with the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, shall submit to the appropriate Congressional committees report on— (1) the level of access for accounts management phone lines for each month during such calendar quarter; (2) the average speed of answering enterprise-wide calls for each month during such calendar quarter; (3) the percentage of regular employees of the Internal Revenue Service that perform work in person at their job sites during such calendar quarter; (4) the aggregate inventory of unprocessed original and amended tax returns, unprocessed suspended tax returns, and unresolved accounts management cases as of the last day of the calendar quarter; and (5) with respect to tax returns eligible for a refund, the average length of time between receipt of a tax return and the issuance of a refund. (b) Applicable period For purposes of this section, the term applicable period means the period beginning with the first calendar quarter beginning after the date of the enactment of this Act and ending with the first calendar quarter in which the Internal Revenue Service— (1) has met the requirements under paragraphs (1) and (2) of section 2(a); and (2) has met the requirements of section 4(b). (c) Appropriate Congressional committees For purposes of this section, the term appropriate Congressional committees means— (1) the Committee on Finance of the Senate; (2) the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate; (3) the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives; and (4) the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives.