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IRS

TIGTA Finds Improvements Needed to Performance Measures for IRS Collection Program

Taija Sparkman

Apr. 23, 2013

The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration released a new report that showed several favorable trends among the IRS’s performance measures for its Collection Program. The performance measures help IRS managers make decision about how to fund and allocate resources to collect the estimated $360 billion from taxpayers who owe but have not paid taxes due.

In the report, the TIGTA found that the total dollars collected in fiscal year 2011 were 20 percent higher than the amount collected in FY 2009. This increase occurred even with fewer revenue officers on staff. In addition, the revenue officers completed investigations more quickly and made trust fund penalty determinations faster in 2011 than 2009.

The TIGTA also suggested solutions the Collection Program could use to enhance the monitoring, measuring and reporting of its accomplishments. The TIGTA’s suggestions are:

  1. Integrate the IRS’s balanced measures to include customer and employee satisfaction and business results into all performance reports. This would help hold managers and staff across Collection Program areas accountable for and focused on balancing service to taxpayers with enforcing the tax laws, as articulated in the IRS mission and its two strategic goals and one strategic foundation.
  2. Link the Collection Program’s performance measures used at the operational level to a specific operational objective and to one or more of the IRS’s strategic goals. Such links can show Collection Program managers how their day-to-day activities contribute to attaining the Collection program’s operational objectives and the broader IRS strategic goals.
  3. Develop and implement meaningful performance targets for each of the operational-level measures. If objectively established, the targets would help Collection Program managers avoid any perception of bias or manipulation in the monitoring and reporting of progress in meeting their pre-established objectives.

TIGTA also recommended that customer satisfaction and employee satisfaction measures are included in all performance reports and the IRS should also establish a performance measure and target for each operational objective. The IRS responded to the report in agreement and plans to incorporate the TIGTA’s recommendations, as well as assess the need for new measures or changes.

In its response to the report, the IRS agreed with TIGTA’s recommendations and plans to include customer satisfaction and employee satisfaction in all performance reports. In addition, the IRS plans to assess the need for new measures or changes to existing measures to ensure proper alignment with operational goals.