New Office Goes After Overdue Taxes

From their nondescript offices in a Kearny Mesa business park, nearly 70 Internal Revenue Service employees--on teams nicknamed F Troop, The A Team and Cream of the Crop--are taking aim at Californians who don’t pay their federal taxes.

Nationally, 90% of Americans regularly pay what Uncle Sam says is his due in a timely manner. Most of the rest meet their tax obligation shortly after receiving a written notice that additional taxes are due.

Given federal budget constraints, the Internal Revenue Service is spending more of its available funds on collections as opposed to litigation. “That’s where you get more bang for the buck,” said one IRS official.

Nationwide Network

The nearly 70 employees who operate from the Internal Revenue Service’s newly opened “Automated Collection Site” in Kearny Mesa are part of a nationwide, 21-office network that uses a high-tech blend of computers and telephones to squeeze overdue payments from taxpayers who fall short when it comes time to pay past-due or estimated taxes.

The IRS began using modern collection techniques about five years ago when officials realized that their existing system--which generated reams and reams of paper--was letting too many taxpayers fall between the cracks.

The computer-driven system has increased compliance rates by about 25%, according to Mike Quinn, a district director in the IRS’ Laguna Niguel District.

In large part, Washington’s annual battle of the budget drives the IRS to improve its collection rate. But the IRS also wants to ensure that Americans who pay on time know that non-payment is not taken lightly.

In August, IRS employees around the country were using computers and telephones to chase about 810,000 delinquent taxpayers who owed the federal government an estimated $3 billion. The Kearny Mesa center and a main office in Santa Ana that houses 155 IRS employees will combine to collect about $4.5 million a week, according to IRS Public Affairs Officer Judith Golden.

Those figures might seem staggering, but the number of tax returns filed each year has passed 110 million, Golden said.

Employees at the Kearny Mesa facility have some impressive tools to use: The IBM computers at each desk operate software that links the computer to nearby telephones. The computers, which dial the phones, display financial information about people who are being pressed to make payments.

Complete Payment

IRS employees have the power to place a levy, or lien, on a person’s bank or savings account, or arrange payroll deductions if the person doesn’t have enough cash to make a complete payment. They can also arrange partial payments or arrange for extensions.

Collectors work only over the telephone, and the public is not allowed to enter the secure facility. For security reasons, the IRS on Wednesday asked reporters to not publish the building’s address.

Cases that can’t be solved by computer and telephones are forwarded to another department that makes in-person visits.

The IRS opened the satellite facility in Kearny Mesa largely because of escalating land and housing prices in Santa Ana. If congressional funding materializes, the center will expand to about 150 employees, up from the existing 69.