Jerry Moran: “my constituents continually remind me of their frustration with the IRS. Not all the problems taxpayers have with the…”

“my constituents continually remind me of their frustration with the IRS. Not all the problems taxpayers have with the IRS are making headlines. The kinds of problems my constituents tell me about are less spectacular but no less frustrating. Oliver Wendell Holmes famed the quote, ``Taxes are what we pay for a civilized society,'' but in my opinion, this does not justify the government's collection of taxes in an uncivilized manner. I have introduced the IRS Customer Service Improvement Act. I have supported the IRS Customer Service Improvement Act legislation addressing numerous taxpayer complaints in dealing with what most Americans consider to be one of the most onerous of all Federal agencies. For example, I recently spoke with a CPA in Kansas who told me of his many experiences with the IRS. One of his greatest frustrations has always been the ability to reach anyone at the IRS when he had a question he needed answered. Recently, in an attempt to get some simple information, he was forced to assign an employee to staff a phone and wait to connect with an IRS agent. Well, patient paid off Mr. Speaker, and they finally did get through--5 hours later. This is just one example but it is simply unacceptable--and the list goes on. The IRS Customer Service Improvement Act addresses seven areas of taxpayer concern. First, it would require the IRS to implement a plan to have all phone calls answered promptly by IRS employees, not machines or voice mail mazes.”