(December 8,
2014) Almost nine out of 10 taxpayers say it is not at all acceptable to cheat
on their income taxes, according to the IRS Oversight Board 2014 Taxpayer
Attitude Survey; unchanged since last year’s survey. Ninety-four percent agree
that it is every American’s civic duty to pay their fair share of income taxes.
The survey
also found that a solid majority of taxpayers – 61 percent – trust the IRS to
fairly enforce the tax laws. Trust in enforcement is noticeably higher – 73
percent – among younger age groups (ages 18 to 24) as compared to those 65
years and older who registered a 56 percent level.
Taxpayer
satisfaction with their personal interaction with the IRS dropped in 2014 to
74%; while still a large majority, this is the lowest level of satisfaction
with the IRS ever recorded in the Board’s survey. In the view of the Board,
this drop likely reflects the impact of significant cuts in walk-in office
services, coupled with a continuing low level of service on IRS’ toll-free
assistance lines—all of which tie to insufficient funding for the IRS.
The survey
found that a majority of taxpayers – 61 percent – expressed support for
providing the IRS extra funding to assist more taxpayers over the phone and in
person. Fifty-six percent support IRS extra funding to enforce the tax laws.
“There are a
number of takeaways from the latest IRS Oversight Board 2014 Taxpayer Attitude
Survey,” said Board Chairman Paul Cherecwich, Jr. “First, in spite of all the
controversy over the past few years, there is still no tolerance for tax
cheating. More than nine out ten taxpayers cite personal integrity as the
greatest influence on whether they honestly report and pay their taxes. This
goes to the heart of our federal tax system, which is based on voluntary
compliance.”
“Second, although
the IRS still has a way to go to regain the public’s trust, the survey suggests
that most taxpayers, especially younger ones, trust the IRS to enforce the tax
laws.”
“This brings
me to my third and last point,” the Chair said. “Taxpayer satisfaction with IRS
customer service has fallen to its lowest level in more than a decade. The
Board believes this can be directly tied to deep cuts in IRS funding which have
served only to punish honest America’s taxpayers who must endure long wait
times over the IRS toll-free telephone lines and at walk-in centers. Taxpayers
understand what’s going on – a solid majority supports extra funding for IRS
customer service. However, Congress is turning back the clock on the
significant gains made in customer service since the passage of the IRS
Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998. It is time to reinvest in the IRS to help
honest taxpayers comply with a complex tax code and to protect the integrity of
our tax system.”
The complete
IRS Oversight Board 2014 Taxpayer Attitude Survey can be found at
www.irsoversightboard.treas.gov.