Did the IRS Actually Help This Tax Season?

Now that the dreaded tax season is fully upon us, it would be a good time to reflect upon the actions of the IRS in the lead up to this troublesome time of the year. Early in January of 2009 the IRS quite clearly stated in a press release from Washington that they were going to take some sweeping steps. These steps would be designed to alleviate many of the problems faced by tax payers, and were especially targeted at those who faced back taxes. Additionally, the IRS promised a speedier turn around for payments and extra measures put in place to help tax payer get the maximum tax refund possible.

One of the main changes the IRS implemented this tax season was to give their employers greater empowerment when dealing with problem cases. This included postponing collection measures being instigated against tax payers who were facing financial hardship during this time of global difficulty. Dilapidating illness and several other serious issues were also cited as being acceptable reasons for IRS staff to postpone the tax collection procedure. In reality it appears that IRS staff were unable to deal with this increased level of responsibility, and many tax payers have been quick to complain that their hard luck was simply brushed aside when dealing with customer facing staff within the IRS. Quite clearly this new measure that was introduced to help tax payers caused a significant amount of frustration as tax payers with problem cases once again faced a brick wall. They came expecting sympathy and an understanding ear and met with the usual IRS bureaucracy.

In a similar fashion to the greater empowerment of IRS staff to suspend tax collection, a second scheme was put in place to deal with those unlucky individuals who were failing to keep up with an already active instalment agreement. Staff were directly empowered to allow for the occasional missed monthly payment, or even to lower the monthly repayment in problem cases. Once again this failed to reach the tax payer, as IRS staff seemed incapable of forming a fair opinion of just what constitutes a problem case. Instead they simply chose the safer side of the fence and refused to help many tax payers facing financial hardship.

Where the tax payer did benefit quite clearly was in the area of increased tax benefits. The IRS obviously spent a considerable amount of resources in highlighting taxes that were draconian in both the method they were applied and the amount of tax relief they gave. Possibly the most innovative of these changes was the new way in which mortgage workouts and foreclosures were to be handled. Obviously there has been a steady rise in foreclosures in the USA as a direct result of the depressed economy. The IRS presented a new tax relief package that did much to help home owners in this situation.

When the IRS came forward with their bold new plans for helping American citizens early in January they made big of the fact they were going to streamline the whole taxation process, providing a much more sleek vehicle for filling and receiving refunds. Overall the new e-payment and e-filing options provided did a fine job of speeding thins up, although it should be noted the IRS failed to hit their target figure of as few as 10 days turn around in most cases.

Overall the IRS made some grand gestures for the 2009 tax season, even though many of them fell short of the promised mark. Hopefully by 2010 tax season the IRS will have refined most of these new processes and we will see a much easier tax season for most US citizens.