Customer Service at the Taxpayer Assistance
Centers Is Improving but Is Still Not Meeting Expectations
December 2004
Reference Number:
2005-40-021
This report has cleared
the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration disclosure review process
and information determined to be restricted from public release has been
redacted from this document.
December
28, 2004
MEMORANDUM
FOR COMMISSIONER, WAGE AND INVESTMENT DIVISION
FROM: for Gordon C. Milbourn III /s/ Michael R.
Phillips
Assistant Inspector General
for Audit (Small Business and Corporate Programs)
SUBJECT: Final Audit Report - Customer Service at
the Taxpayer Assistance Centers Is Improving but Is Still Not Meeting
Expectations (Audit # 200440033)
This report
presents the results of our review of customer service at the Internal Revenue
Service’s (IRS) Taxpayer Assistance Centers (TAC). The overall objective of this review was to assess
the progress the IRS has made in improving the quality of customer service
provided at the TACs when answering tax law questions. The basis for our
assessment is the audit work we conducted during the period January 2002
through April 2004.
The IRS is improving
customer service for taxpayers that visit the TACs to ask tax law questions. For example:
·
The TACs are easier to locate since the IRS ensures TAC
addresses have been accurately posted to the IRS Internet, toll-free telephone
numbers, and automated telephone systems.
·
IRS employees provide assistance within 30 or fewer minutes
and treat taxpayers courteously and professionally.
·
The IRS is better at protecting taxpayers’ privacy when they
visit the TACs for tax law assistance.
However, more improvement is needed for the IRS to provide top-quality
customer service at its TACs. The accuracy of responses to tax
law questions increased by 24 percent (from 54 to 67 percent) based on the body of work we completed during the
period January 2002 through April 2004.
However, the
IRS did not meet its 80 percent accuracy goals for Fiscal Years (FY) 2003 and
2004 and experienced nominal improvement in decreasing the number of incorrect
responses given. The IRS established the
80 percent accuracy goal for tax law questions for FYs 2003 and 2004 using our Calendar
Year 2002 audit results as a baseline to measure improvements.
We believe the IRS will not achieve its accuracy goal if
employees continue to answer tax law questions without using the tools provided
by IRS management to address taxpayer questions and issues, and if the IRS does
not implement an effective quality review program. IRS employees are required to use the
Publication Method Guide or obtain the appropriate publication, discuss
specific information related to the topic, ask appropriate questions to obtain
facts when assisting a taxpayer, and then respond to the taxpayer’s issue or
question. We found employees did not always use
the tools provided or ask questions sufficient to answer the taxpayers’
questions correctly. They also answered
questions they were not trained to answer.
The IRS also has
not had a process in place to effectively measure the progress made to improve
customer service. The IRS has taken
several actions to implement a quality review program to identify ways to improve the accuracy and quality
of services provided at the TACs. In
October 2001, the IRS hired an outside contractor to make anonymous visits to the TACs
to assess the quality of service being provided. In October 2002, the IRS implemented a Quality Review Program for the TACs
using anonymous visits by IRS employees.
Neither was able to provide reliable data. Currently, the IRS is implementing a technology‑based
quality improvement program that is part of an IRS‑wide standard approach
to improving quality and planning and is designed to clearly link quality
measures to both individual and corporate performance.
Since
2002, the IRS has taken numerous corrective actions to improve the accuracy and
quality of service at the TACs. However,
the IRS still faces significant challenges to provide top-quality customer service, including changing employee behavior, managing the complexity of tax law, funding
and implementing a reliable quality review program, providing one-stop service,
and obtaining adequate customer service feedback. Until the IRS addresses these challenges, we
do not believe it will be able to meet its goals. We made recommendations to address these
issues in prior reports; as a result, we are not making any additional recommendations
in this report.
Management’s
Response:
While IRS management appreciates our
recognition of the improved customer service in the TACs and the IRS’ efforts
in attaining that improvement, management continues to disagree with our method
of reporting referrals to publications
and service not provided when computing the accuracy rate. Along with this issue, IRS management does
not agree with our conclusion that the IRS did not meet its tax law accuracy
goal and will continue to experience problems in doing so unless some changes
are made. They point out that the
results of visits conducted by IRS quality review staff and management shows
that the IRS actually exceeded the 80 percent goal. Although the IRS sample was, like ours, not
statistically valid, IRS management believes the IRS results provide a better
perspective due to the number of visits compared to those we made in our
tests.
Management’s complete
response to the draft report is included as Appendix IV.
Office of Audit Comment: We continue to believe that when a taxpayer
walks into a TAC and asks a question, he or she expects to receive a correct
response from the IRS. While we
acknowledge that accuracy has improved, we do not agree that the IRS has
achieved its accuracy rate goal of 80 percent.
The IRS reported accuracy rates of 86 percent for the quality review
visits and 93 percent for the manager visits are based on two different
methodologies, which we believe should not be used as a basis for achieving the
accuracy goal. While the IRS disagreed
with how we calculated our FY 2004 accuracy rate of 67 percent, it did use its
own methodology to recalculate an accuracy rate of 75 percent. The IRS used this figure as a baseline for
measuring employee improvement in tax law accuracy for FY 2005. We do not believe that the IRS can state that
it achieved its accuracy rate goal of 80 percent while using 75 percent as a
baseline to measure improvements.
On page 2 of management’s
response, the IRS disagreed that manager observation of employees for
evaluative purposes influences behavior.
IRS management stated that the volume of observations being conducted
provides a reasonably reliable measure of employee performance. However, the IRS’ internal documents
providing support for Contact Recording state, “… Currently, an IRS manager
randomly monitors “live” taxpayer contacts by physically standing next to the
assistor, potentially altering the dynamics…” and “… This physical presence
establishes a superficial situation for both the assistor and the customer and
inhibits the accurate assessment of performance in day-to-day contacts…” We agree that this bias will be eliminated once Contact Recording is
implemented.
The IRS
believes its customer satisfaction survey ratings are not intended to measure
accuracy of tax law responses. However,
we believe accuracy is a key component of the taxpayers’ experience when
visiting TACs to receive answers to their tax law questions. Furthermore, the IRS’ weekly
monitoring of office hours posted to IRS.gov or provided through its toll-free
telephone system will not identify if TAC hours posted at the TACs are
incorrect. During FY 2004, we reported
that only 68 percent of the hours posted at the TACs matched the hours made
available to taxpayers.
Copies of this
report are also being sent to the IRS managers affected by the report results. Please contact me at (202) 622-6510 if you
have questions or Michael R. Phillips, Assistant Inspector General for Audit
(Wage and Investment Income Programs), at (202) 927-0597.
Customer Service Is Improving at the Taxpayer
Assistance Centers
Program Results Did Not Meet Expectations
Challenges
Continue to Confront the Internal Revenue Service in Meeting Program Goals
Appendix
I – Detailed Objective, Scope, and Methodology
Appendix II
– Major Contributors to This Report
Appendix III – Report Distribution List
Appendix IV – Management’s Response to
the Draft Report
Providing quality customer service is the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) first step to achieving taxpayer compliance. One of the Congress’ principal objectives in enacting the IRS Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998 (RRA 98) was to mandate that the IRS do a better job of meeting the needs of its customers. In the RRA 98, the Congress directed the IRS to achieve a better balance between its postfiling enforcement efforts and prefiling taxpayer assistance through education and service. To comply with this Congressional mandate, the IRS revised its mission statement to refocus its emphasis on helping taxpayers understand and meet their tax responsibilities.
As defined by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA), providing quality customer service operations remains among the major management challenges the IRS faces in Fiscal Year (FY) 2005. One of the three goals in the IRS Strategic Plan 2005–2009 is to improve customer service. To help achieve this goal, the IRS plans to improve service options, facilitate participation in the tax system by all sectors of the public, and simplify the tax process.
Taxpayers have several options from which to choose when they need assistance from the IRS, including face-to-face assistance at the Taxpayer Assistance Centers (TAC), telephone assistance through the toll-free telephone numbers, and Internet access through the IRS web site, IRS.gov. The complexity of tax law has made it even more important that the IRS ensure these services are available to all taxpayers.
The IRS is committed to providing top‑quality service to taxpayers, demonstrated by the IRS Field Assistance (FA) Office’s mission to minimize the burden to customers in satisfying their tax obligations by providing the right services at the right location at the right time. The FA Office has overall responsibility for over 400 TACs in 5 geographical areas throughout the United States (U.S.).
To accomplish its mission, the FA Office provides professional assistance, education, and compliance services to customers that desire face-to-face interaction. IRS employees that work in the TACs assist customers by interpreting tax laws and regulations, preparing certain tax returns, resolving inquiries on taxpayer accounts, and providing various other services designed to minimize the burden on taxpayers in satisfying their tax obligations. Operating guidelines require IRS employees to identify themselves, provide their identification number either verbally or visually to all taxpayers, and assist taxpayers in a professional and courteous manner.
According to the IRS, the TACs served approximately 21.5 million taxpayers for the period January 2002 through April 2004. Approximately 4.4 million of these taxpayers visited the TACs for assistance with the tax laws. Figure 1 shows the percentage of taxpayers assisted by employees in the TACs on the various services detailed above.
Figure 1: Percentages of Various
Services
Provided by IRS Employees at the TACs
Figure 1 was removed due
to its size. To see Figure 1, please go
to the Adobe PDF version of the report on the TIGTA Public Web Page.
Because of the complexity of the tax law and the need to assist millions of taxpayers with tax law questions, TAC employees are not trained to answer all types of tax law questions. Instead, they are trained on specific tax topics and are authorized to answer only those questions within this expertise. These are called in-scope questions; they include specific tax law topics related to lines on the U.S. Individual Income Tax Return (Form 1040), such as income, filing status, exemptions, deductions, and credits.
When a taxpayer walks into a TAC, he or she uses the Q‑MATIC system to select the type of assistance desired (e.g., return preparation, tax law question, account inquiry, payment). In some larger TACs, an IRS employee called a screener determines the reason for a taxpayer’s visit and makes the Q‑MATIC system choice for the taxpayer. Once a choice is made, the taxpayer is issued a number and waits for assistance until that number is called. Figure 2 shows an example of how this works for a taxpayer asking a tax law question.
Figure 2:
Taxpayer Asking a Tax Law Question at a TAC
Figure 2 was removed due
to its size. To see Figure 2, please go
to the Adobe PDF version of the report on the TIGTA Public Web Page.
When assisting taxpayers, IRS employees must first determine if the tax law questions are in-scope. If the questions are in-scope, employees are generally required to use tax instructions, forms, and publications or the Publication Method Guide to provide the answers. The Guide is a tool to guide IRS employees through the complex maze of tax laws and computations.
When receiving out‑of‑scope questions, IRS employees are required to offer to call the appropriate IRS toll‑free telephone number on behalf of the taxpayers or to submit the questions in writing to subject‑matter experts via IRS.gov (R‑mail). Questions submitted via R‑mail are assigned to employees, and taxpayers are to receive responses within 15 business days.
Our assessment of the customer service at the TACs includes information derived from TIGTA audit reports issued during the period January 2002 through April 2004. We visited 471 TACs during this period and asked 1,869 in‑scope tax law questions. Since we judgmentally selected the TACs, the results cannot be projected to all TACs. Detailed information on our audit objective, scope, and methodology, including a list of previously issued reports, is presented in Appendix I. Each of the audits was conducted in accordance with Government Auditing Standards. Major contributors to the report are listed in Appendix II.
The IRS has made progress in improving customer service for taxpayers that visit the TACs to ask tax law questions. For example, the IRS is doing a better job ensuring the addresses for the TACs are accurately posted to IRS systems for access by IRS employees and taxpayers. The IRS is working to improve IRS.gov to make it easier for taxpayers to obtain the addresses for the TACs located in their states. Taxpayers that do not have access to the Internet can call the IRS toll-free telephone numbers or automated telephone messaging system at a TAC to obtain this information.
When taxpayers visit the TACs to ask tax law questions, they generally have to wait 30 or fewer minutes before being served. IRS employees identify themselves as required and are courteous and professional when responding to taxpayers’ questions.
The IRS has also taken steps to provide taxpayers more privacy when they visit the TACs. Since May 2002, the IRS requires IRS employees to ask taxpayers to write down their Social Security Numbers or Employer Identification Numbers rather than stating the numbers aloud. In addition, the IRS is in the process of redesigning the TACs to provide more privacy for taxpayers. Protecting taxpayer privacy is a very significant issue, and we believe the redesigned TAC layout will further improve taxpayer privacy.
One of the IRS’ goals is to provide top-quality service to
its customers. The IRS established an 80 percent accuracy goal for tax law questions for
FYs 2003 and 2004, using our Calendar Year (CY) 2002 results as a baseline to measure
improvements. Although the accuracy rate
has increased, the IRS did not meet its accuracy goals. Figure 3 shows the comparison of the
IRS accuracy goals (80 percent for FYs 2003 and 2004) and accuracy rates for
CYs 2002 and 2003 and Filing Season 2004.
Figure 3: Comparison of Accuracy Goals and Accuracy
Rates
Figure 3 was removed due
to its size. To see Figure 3, please go
to the Adobe PDF version of the report on the TIGTA Public Web Page.
Based on the body of work we completed during the period January 2002 through April 2004, the tax law accuracy rate increased by 24 percent (from 54 to 67 percent). Figure 4 compares the detailed results for CYs 2002 and 2003 and Filing Season 2004.
Figure 4:
Comparison of Accuracy Rates for CYs 2002 and 2003 and Filing Season
2004
Figure 4 was removed due
to its size. To see Figure 4, please go
to the Adobe PDF version of the report on the TIGTA Public Web Page.
With the reduction of Referred to Publication responses, IRS
employees provided correct responses to more questions. However, IRS employees experienced nominal improvement
in decreasing the number of incorrect
responses given.
We believe the IRS will not achieve its accuracy goal if employees continue to answer tax law questions without using the tools provided by IRS management, and if the IRS does not implement an effective quality review program.
Employees do not always follow existing
procedures when responding to taxpayers’ tax law questions
IRS employees are required to use the Publication Method Guide or obtain the appropriate publication, discuss specific information related to the topic, ask appropriate questions to obtain facts, and then respond to the taxpayer’s issue or question. During our reviews, IRS employees continued to answer tax law questions without asking all the probing questions outlined in the Publication Method Guide or using the tax instructions or publications. The risk that taxpayers will receive inaccurate answers is increased when IRS employees do not follow required procedures.
Figure 5 shows the accuracy rates for tax law questions when IRS employees did and did not use tax instructions or publications when providing assistance to our auditors.
Figure 5: Responses
to Questions for the Period January 2002 Through April 2004
Figure 5 was removed due
to its size. To see Figure 5, please go
to the Adobe PDF version of the report on the TIGTA Public Web Page.
The IRS does not want employees in the TACs to answer tax law questions beyond their skill level or for which they have not been trained. This reduces employee assumptions and the risk that taxpayers will receive incorrect answers to their questions. Employees are not expected to be experts in all aspects of tax law. According to FA Office management, experienced employees are more likely to answer out-of-scope questions because they believe they know the correct answers and feel obligated to answer.
An effective quality review process is needed
The IRS recognizes
that it needs to implement an effective quality review process for its TACs. In October 2001, the IRS hired an outside
contractor to assess the quality of service
being provided in the TACs. Contracted
employees anonymously visited the TACs and asked IRS employees two tax law
questions. However, we expressed
concerns with the contractor’s methodology for reporting the accuracy rate for
questions asked by its employees. As a result of these concerns, the IRS
terminated the contract. This
again left the IRS with unreliable data to measure the quality of service being
provided in its TACs.
In October 2002, the IRS implemented a Quality Review Program for the TACs. The Quality Review Program was developed to identify ways to improve the accuracy and quality of services provided at the TACs. The Quality Review Program staff replaced contracted employees and completed anonymous visits to the TACs. At the request of the IRS, we reviewed the Program and determined that it did not have a process to provide accurate trending information.
Currently, the IRS is implementing a technology-based quality improvement program called Embedded Quality Business Integration (EQBI). The EQBI is part of an IRS‑wide standard approach to improving quality and planning and is designed to clearly link quality measures to both individual and corporate performance. In addition, the EQBI is designed to assist managers by integrating four technologies: Queuing Management, Contact Recording, Embedded Quality, and E-Performance Based Individual Training. IRS management believes the new program will ensure all managers are using the same methods of evaluation to establish baselines and identify root causes of defects in employees’ interactions with taxpayers.
The first phase of the EQBI implementation is using manager observations to rate employee performance. The EQBI is designed only to measure employees’ face-to-face contacts with taxpayers. To monitor the performance of their employees, managers must be physically present when employees assist taxpayers. This physical presence establishes a superficial situation for both the assistor and the customer and inhibits the accurate assessment of performance in day-to-day contacts. The IRS acknowledges this process has biases but believes the number of observations will compensate for these limitations.
However, the next phase of the EQBI includes implementing
Contact Recording. Contact Recording
takes the guesswork out of quality assessment. This automated system will record the
conversation and will capture and synchronize the assistor’s computer screen
activity, making the entire taxpayer interaction available for review and
feedback. The system will also randomly
select statistically valid samples of recorded contacts for quality review,
which should provide a more accurate and consistent picture of the quality of
work performed at the TACs. During FY
2005, we plan to review both the Embedded Quality and Contact Recording System technologies
within the EQBI.
Since 2002, the IRS
has taken numerous corrective actions to improve the accuracy and quality of
service provided at the TACs. However, the
IRS still faces significant challenges to provide top-quality customer service. For example:
Meeting these challenges is essential for the IRS to successfully deliver quality customer service to taxpayers.
Employee Behavior
Accuracy goals will continue to be a
challenge until IRS management is able to change employees’ behavior and ensure
they follow required procedures when assisting taxpayers. IRS employees continue to answer tax
law questions without asking all the required questions or using the Publication
Method Guide and tax instructions or publications. This happens because IRS employees in the
TACs stated the Guide was too cumbersome and diminished their credibility. Conversely,
when the IRS implemented a zero tolerance policy for employees referring taxpayers
to publications to obtain answers to their tax law questions, the number of referrals
to publication responses decreased significantly.
Complexity of the tax law
The scope and the complexity of the
EBQI funding and implementation
A third challenge the IRS faces
is obtaining the funding needed to fully implement all four components of the EBQI
at the TACs nationwide. The advances in
technology will help the IRS capture and analyze interactions with customers,
target improvement opportunities, and deliver better service. The IRS believes the integration of the four
technology solutions will provide accurate quality measures and better ways of
identifying opportunities for improvement.
If adequate funding is not available for
scheduled deployment of this project, the limitations in the current quality review
process will remain. The IRS will not be
able to effectively measure the accuracy of the full scope of its products.
One-stop service
The IRS is not able to provide one-stop service at its TACs. One goal of the IRS is to minimize the burden to customers in satisfying their tax obligations by providing the right services at the right location at the right time. IRS.gov states, “IRS Taxpayer Assistance Centers are your one-stop resource for face-to-face tax help and solutions to tax problems, every business day.” However, the IRS is not able to achieve its commitment to provide one-stop service or provide all the services taxpayers may expect.
Because of the complexity of the tax law and the number of taxpayers the IRS serves, not all IRS employees can be experts on all tax topics and provide all tax services. However, the IRS has not adequately educated taxpayers on what services are offered at the TACs, creating a burden for those taxpayers that visit a TAC asking questions on tax law topics that are outside the scope of expertise of the IRS employees present.
In addition, based on our body of work, the IRS does not ensure office hours are current on its systems accessed via IRS.gov or the toll-free telephone numbers. This could require taxpayers to make multiple trips.
Customer satisfaction feedback
Obtaining sufficient customer feedback with which to appropriately measure customer satisfaction at the TACs has remained a challenge. The IRS developed Customer Survey Comment Cards to obtain feedback from taxpayers on the quality of service they received at the TACs. IRS employees are required to offer a Comment Card to every taxpayer who is provided face-to-face service.
However, employees do not always follow these procedures. This reduces the effectiveness of the Customer Satisfaction Survey the IRS uses to measure the quality of service at the TACs. TIGTA auditors were offered Comment Cards only 46 percent of the time when making anonymous visits to the TACs during the period July 2002 through April 2004. In addition, taxpayers completing the Comment Cards generally represented less than 4 percent of the total number of taxpayers that visited the TACs during this same period. While completing the survey is voluntary, IRS employees that do not follow procedures and offer taxpayers Comment Cards limit opportunities for a broader depiction of how satisfied taxpayers are with the quality of service provided at the TACs.
Although the IRS received high ratings from taxpayers on the services provided at its TACs, these ratings do not capture the true perspective of the quality of service provided because taxpayers complete the survey without knowing whether they received accurate answers to their tax law questions or issues. Figure 6 shows the comparison of taxpayer satisfaction rates and accuracy results from our anonymous visits for CYs 2002 and 2003 and Filing Season 2004.
Figure 6: Comparison of Taxpayer Satisfaction Rates and
Accuracy Rates for CYs 2002 and 2003 and Filing Season 2004
Figure 6 was removed due
to its size. To see Figure 6, please go
to the Adobe PDF version of the report on the TIGTA Public Web Page.
One of the IRS’ FY 2005 major management challenges, as defined by the TIGTA, is to provide quality customer service operations. The IRS recognizes that the tax law accuracy rate is inadequate and continues to take steps to improve the quality and accuracy of the service its TACs provide. The IRS has made progress in these efforts. However, based on the IRS’ accuracy rates, we believe there has not been enough improvement to consistently provide accurate answers to taxpayers that visit the TACs. We also believe implementation of the EQBI is a positive step in establishing a standardized process to improve accuracy.
All taxpayers should receive accurate answers
and quality service when they visit the TACs. Taxpayers visit the TACs to receive face-to-face
service and assistance with the tax laws.
However, the burden on taxpayers is increased when they rely on
the IRS’ assistance to help them comply with the tax law but are not provided
correct responses to their tax law questions.
Appendix I
Detailed Objective,
Scope, and Methodology
The overall objective of this review was to assess the progress the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has made in improving the quality of service provided at Taxpayer Assistance Centers (TAC) when answering tax law questions. The basis for our assessment is the audit work we conducted during the period January 2002 through April 2004. To achieve this objective, we:
I.
Determined
if the IRS Field Assistance (FA) Office has met Congressional and taxpayer
expectations to minimize the burden to taxpayers in satisfying their tax
obligations by providing the right services at the right location at the right
time.
A.
Researched the IRS
Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998 and determined if the FA Office has taken steps to
address Congressional concerns related to the quality of customer service
provided in the TACs.
B.
Determined if the
establishment of the TACs provides a better balance between the IRS’ prefiling
taxpayer assistance through education and service and postfiling enforcement
efforts.
C.
Reviewed IRS filing
season reports from the Government Accountability Office to identify improvements
made at the TACs for Calendar Years 2002 and 2003.
II. Followed
up on the IRS’ corrective actions taken based on the results and
recommendations made in previously issued bimonthly and semiannual trend
reports.
A.
Determined if
corrective actions have been implemented.
B.
Determined if
implemented actions have improved tax law accuracy and the quality of service
provided in the TACs. Specifically, we
reviewed actions addressing tax law accuracy, accommodations, and IRS
employees’ adherence to FA Office operating guidelines and procedures.
C.
Determined the effect
or impact from corrective actions not implemented.
III. Analyzed
data gathered from the reviews conducted during the period January 2002 through
April 2004 to determine if the IRS has made progress in improving the quality
of customer service provided to individual taxpayers that visit the TACs. A list of the prior audit reports follows.
Management Advisory Report:
Taxpayers Continue to Receive Incorrect Answers to Some Tax Law
Questions (Reference
Number 2002-40-086, dated April 2002).
Management Advisory Report:
Taxpayers Continue to Receive Incorrect Answers to Some Tax Law
Questions (Reference
Number 2002-40-113, dated June 2002).
Management Advisory Report:
Progress Was Made to Provide Taxpayers With Correct Answers to Tax Law
Questions (Reference
Number 2002-40-161, dated August 2002).
Trends in Customer Service in the
Taxpayer Assistance Centers Show Procedural and Training Causes for Inaccurate
Answers to Tax Law Questions (Reference Number 2003-40-023, dated
November 2002). (Semiannual Report for
January Through June 2002).
Taxpayers That Visited Taxpayer
Assistance Centers in July and August 2002 Received Incorrect Answers to Some
Tax Law Questions (Reference Number 2003-40-024, dated November
2002).
Taxpayers That Visited Taxpayer
Assistance Centers During September and October 2002 Received More Correct
Answers to Tax Law Questions Than in Prior Months (Reference
Number 2003-40-040, dated December 2002).
Taxpayers That Visited Taxpayer
Assistance Centers in November and December 2002 Received Incorrect Answers to
Some Tax Law Questions (Reference Number 2003-40-072, dated
March 2003).
Trends in Customer
Service in the Taxpayer Assistance Centers Continue to Show Procedural Causes
for Inaccurate Answers to Tax Law Questions (Reference Number 2003-40-158, dated August 2003).
Progress Was Made to Provide
Taxpayers With Correct Answers to Tax Law Questions, but Improvements Are
Needed to Ensure Referral Procedures Are Followed (Reference
Number 2003-40-120, dated May 2003).
(Semiannual Report for July Through December 2002).
Taxpayer Assistance
Center Employees Improved the Accuracy of Answers to Tax Law Questions but
Answered Some Questions Beyond Their Level of Training (Reference
Number 2003-40-157, dated July 2003).
Taxpayer Experience at the Taxpayer
Assistance Centers Could Be Improved (Reference Number 2004-40-152, dated September 2004).
Appendix II
Major Contributors to This
Report
Sylvia Sloan-Copeland,
Auditor
Appendix III
Commissioner C
Office
of the Commissioner – Attn: Chief of
Staff C
Deputy
Commissioner for Services and Enforcement
SE
Deputy
Commissioner, Wage and Investment Division
SE:W
Director, Customer Assistance, Relationships, and Education, Wage and Investment Division SE:W:CAR
Director, Strategy and Finance, Wage and Investment Division SE:W:S
Chief, Performance Improvement, Wage and Investment
Division SE:W:S:PI
Director,
Director, Stakeholder Partnerships, Education, and Communication, Wage and Investment Division SE:W:CAR:SPEC
Chief Counsel CC
National Taxpayer Advocate TA
Director, Office of Legislative Affairs CL:LA
Director, Office of
Program Evaluation and Risk Analysis
RAS:O
Office of Management
Controls OS:CFO:AR:M
Audit Liaison: Senior Operations Advisor, Wage and Investment Division SE:W:S
Appendix IV
The response was
removed due to its size. To see the
response, please go to the Adobe PDF version of the report on the TIGTA Public
Web Page.