The General Accountability Office has released Many Taxpayers Rely
on Tax Software and
IRS Needs to Assess
Associated Risks (GAO-09-297):
monitor compliance with established security and privacy standards. Further,
IRS has not developed a plan to monitor compliance with new standards,
which are optional in 2009 but may be mandatory in 2010. Without
appropriate monitoring, IRS has limited assurance that the standards are
being implemented or complied with.
IRS has not conducted an assessment to determine whether taxpayers’ use of
tax software poses any risks to tax administration. Risks include that IRS may
be missing opportunities to systemically identify areas to improve software
guidance and enhance information security. IRS officials said the likely
benefits of an assessment would not warrant the costs but have not
determined either the benefits or costs of such an assessment. Moreover, IRS
has also said that it is in the agency’s best interest to ensure that taxpayers
can rely on commercial software to make electronic filing accurate, easy, and
efficient. Further, if even small improvements in the accuracy of tax returns
could be made by clarifying the guidance in tax software, the effect on
revenue could be substantial. Without a risk assessment, IRS does not know
whether its existing oversight of the tax software industry is sufficient or
needs to be expanded.
