The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), Public Law 117-169, enacted August 16, 2022, provides for $80 billion in funding over a ten year period to enhance Internal Revenue Service (IRS) resources and improve taxpayer compliance.  The funding is allocated as follows:

• $3.1 billion for taxpayer services;
• $45.6 billion for enforcement;
• $25.3 billion for operation support; and
• $4.75 billion for business systems modernization.

The last major reform effort for the IRS was pursuant to the Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998 (RRA 98), Public Law 105-206.  RRA 98 was preceded by a bipartisan National Commission on Restructuring the IRS, which held public hearings around the country, approximately nine months of congressional hearings, House and Senate committee reports, and a conference report.  RRA 98, then, has extensive legislative history which lays out the clear intent and expectations of Congress in its efforts to reform and restructure the IRS.  Not surprisingly, as a result of all this effort, RRA 98 passed the House with a 402 to 8 vote and the Senate with a 96 to 2 vote.

The Inflation Reduction Act, on the other hand, was a reconciliation bill and preceded by minimal formal legislative history.  To provide some record and public discussion, the Center for Taxpayer Rights is holding a series of 15 or so virtual “Tax Chats” with experts from the private, academic, nonprofit, and government sectors on various aspects of tax administration. 

All the Tax Chats! are free of charge but you must register in order to receive the link and notifications of future Tax Chats! in the series. 

The inaugural Chat of this series was held on Thursday, March 23 with Charles Rossotti, IRS Commissioner during and immediately after the enactment of RRA 98. For a recent article by Charles and other former Commissioners about starting steps to transform tax administration, see here.  You can view the video of this Tax Chat! here.

Our next two Tax Chats! are as follows:

• April 13, 2023 (noon EDT): The IRS Budget — what is in it, how is it developed, how are activities classified between Services, Enforcement, Operations Support, Information Technology, and Business Systems Modernization, and how is return on investment determined?  Our guests will be Mark Mazur, former Treasury Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy and former IRS Director of Research; Ursula Gillis, former IRS Chief Financial Officer, and Jessica Lucas Judy, Director, Tax Issues – Strategic Issues Team – Government Accountability Office (GAO).
  
  
• April 18, 2023 (1:30 pm EDT):  Information Technology Challenges — how do you manage large, transformational IT projects; where should the IRS start, and how should it prioritize its efforts?  Our guests will be Fred Forman, former Associate Commissioner of Business Systems Modernization; David Hinchman, Director, Information Technology & Cybersecurity, GAO; and Marina Nitze, former Chief Technology Officer, US Dept. of Veterans Affairs and co-author of Hack Your Bureaucracy.

You can register for these events, and others in the series, below:

To learn about future events in the Transformation series, subscribe to the Taxpayer Rights Digest here or keep checking back at this site.