IRS Struggles in Effort to Improve Customer Service, Report Says

The Internal Revenue Service is facing difficulty in improving its customer service even with a new performance measure system, a General Accounting Office report concluded.

While the IRS defined successful customer service as “an accurate response to a call or resolution of a case,” the agency is unable to measure how long it takes to resolve an issue or how courteous and professional IRS agents are in dealing with taxpayers, the report said.

The IRS in the last year has been plagued with a steady stream of criticism from legislators and taxpayers, who have accused the agency of abusing taxpayers and of lagging in upgrading its computers.

“We recognize the critical importance of measuring customer service in our effort to become a first-class service organization,” said IRS Commissioner Charles Rossotti in a statement.

The IRS also needs to make it easier and faster for taxpayers to fill out their tax forms, the report said, while alleviating any cost incurred by taxpayers in meeting their tax obligations, especially when responding to an audit.

The agency now offers telephone customer service assistance from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Saturday, additional walk-in hours on Saturday, and a more exhaustive Web site, said IRS spokeswoman Jody Patterson.

Other federal agencies, the executive branch and Congress can also help the IRS better balance its role as taxpayer assistant and tax law enforcer by consulting more with one another, the report said.

The agency’s overall mission still remains the “collecting of the proper amount of tax revenue at the least cost” by encouraging taxpayers to file their returns and pay their taxes on time, the report said.