The Internal Revenue Service has created a new Chief Taxpayer Experience Officer position to help unify and expand efforts across the agency to serve taxpayers. Ken Corbin, currently the IRS Wage and Investment commissioner, will take on this new role while also continuing to serve in his position overseeing the agency’s largest operating division.
“I’m excited for this opportunity and, with my dedicated Taxpayer Experience Office team, look forward to helping the IRS continue to earn the trust and respect of every American. We want to help taxpayers and we will,” Corbin said.
This announcement is the first senior leadership role created within the IRS under the Taxpayer First Act framework. The IRS continues work on the Taxpayer First Act, part of legislation passed in July 2019. The IRS delivered the Taxpayer First Act Report to Congress earlier this month, providing a comprehensive set of recommendations that will reimagine the taxpayer experience, enhance employee training and restructure the organization to increase collaboration and innovation.
The Taxpayer Experience Office, led by the Chief Taxpayer Experience Officer, reporting directly to the Commissioner, is one of the new roles envisioned in the multi-year plan.
“This position is designed to ensure the views and experiences of taxpayers and their professional representatives are factored into all aspects of IRS operations,” said IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig. “While taxpayer service has always been a priority for the IRS, we can do more. Having Ken Corbin in this new position will provide a different way of ensuring the taxpayer component is factored into all aspects of global IRS operations and business decisions in a way that’s never been done before. Every taxpayer and every taxpayer interaction are important, and Ken will make a significant difference going forward.”
The position will work with business units and offices across the IRS, including Chief Counsel, the Independent Office of Appeals and the National Taxpayer Advocate. The role is envisioned as working in coordination with the National Taxpayer Advocate, which is an independent organization inside the agency that helps taxpayers with issues that can’t be resolved with the IRS.
“The selection of Ken Corbin is an excellent choice,” said Erin Collins, National Taxpayer Advocate. “The Taxpayer Advocate Service’s statutory mission is to identify problems taxpayers experience in their dealings with the IRS and to make recommendations to mitigate them. With Ken serving in this role, TAS will have a dedicated resource on the IRS operations side whose job is to address taxpayer problems. I believe his broad knowledge of tax administration, his understanding of issues impacting taxpayers, taxpayer service and taxpayer rights, and his demonstrated commitment to do the right thing will be a benefit for all taxpayers. I look forward to working closely with Ken and his team on behalf of our nation’s taxpayers to improve taxpayer service.”
The role will set the strategic direction for improving the taxpayer experience and identifying opportunities to make continuous improvements in real time for taxpayers and the tax professional community. This office will be focused on monitoring the taxpayer experience and providing other organizational units with information on changing taxpayer expectations, industry trends and ways to apply customer service best practices. Throughout this, there will be a continued emphasis on taxpayer rights.
Corbin will assume this new role while also continuing his work in W&I, which includes overseeing the nation’s annual tax filing season set to begin Feb.12, 2021. This approach will ensure continuity during a critical filing season while also moving elements of the Taxpayer First Act forward.
For more than three decades at the IRS, Corbin has served in many different roles serving taxpayers was a key component. As W&I Commissioner, he oversees more than 35,000 employees across the country and serves more than 150 million taxpayers through work on the annual filing season as well as taxpayer-facing operations including toll-free operations, tax return processing centers, Taxpayer Assistance Centers and tax forms, taxpayer correspondence and publication development.
Corbin began his career in government service at the Atlanta Service Center in 1986. During his career, Corbin has acquired an extensive background in campus operations from 10 years in Submission Processing, three in Accounts Management, six in Compliance Services, three in the Taxpayer Advocate Services as well as numerous executive assignments across the agency.
He holds bachelor’s degrees in chemistry and philosophy from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. He is a graduate of the fall 2008 Candidate Development Program.
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