The IRS yesterday released its Strategic Plan 2009-2013:
The Internal Revenue Service strives to maintain the fairest and most effective system of voluntary tax compliance in the world. The environment in which we operate is complex and constantly changing, and the IRS must change with it. …
[S]tudies of international tax systems show that the U.S. tax system is extremely effective, and the IRS has a highly motivated workforce that clearly understands its mission. The IRS must continue to deliver this high level of performance both in how we serve taxpayers and in how we enforce the tax laws. The Strategic Plan 2009-2013 will guide the IRS in this work by emphasizing two overarching goals.
Our first goal is to improve service to taxpayers to make voluntary compliance easier. We will work harder to incorporate taxpayer perspectives, expedite resolution of taxpayer issues, and provide timely guidance to help all taxpayers pay their fair share of taxes. We will also strengthen our partnerships with tax practitioners, preparers, and other third parties in the system.
Our second and equally important goal is to enforce the law to ensure everyone meets their obligation to pay taxes. We will be timely in our enforcement actions and expand the approaches and tools we use in compliance activities. We will meet the challenges of globalization by improving our expertise and coordinating better with international organizations.
We need to excel at both service and enforcement to meet our mission: it isn’t an either/or proposition. To succeed, we will support these goals by investing in two strategic foundations – our people and our technology. We will strive to make the IRS the best place to work in government. We will give our people the technology they need to improve efficiency, ensure privacy and security of data, and target the highest-risk areas of tax abuse and fraud.
Major trends affecting the IRS: 2009-2013
- Increasing complexity of tax administration
- Growing human capital challenges
- Explosion in electronic data, online interactions, and related security risks
- Accelerating globalization
- Expanding role of tax practitioners and other third parties in the tax system
- Accelerating change in business models
Goal 1: Improve service to make voluntary compliance easier
- Objective 1: Incorporate taxpayer perspectives to improve all service interactions
- Objective 2: Expedite and improve issue resolution across all interactions with taxpayers, making it easier to navigate the IRS
- Objective 3: Provide taxpayers with targeted, timely guidance and outreach
- Objective 4: Strengthen partnerships with tax practitioners, tax preparers, and other third parties in order to ensure effective tax administration
Goal 2: Enforce the law to ensure everyone meets their obligations to pay taxes
- Objective 1: Proactively enforce the law in a timely manner while respecting taxpayer rights and minimizing taxpayer burden
- Objective 2: Expand enforcement approaches and tools
- Objective 3: Meet the challenges of international tax administration
- Objective 4: Allocate compliance resources using a data-driven approach to target existing and emerging high-risk areas
- Objective 5: Continue focused oversight of the tax-exempt sector
- Objective 6: Ensure that all tax practitioners, tax preparers, and other third parties in the tax system adhere to professional standards and follow the law
Strategic Foundations: Invest for high performance:
- Objective 1: Make the IRS the best place to work in government
- Objective 2: Build and deploy advanced information technology systems, processes, and tools to improve IRS efficiency and productivity
- Objective 3: Use data and research across the organization to make informed decisions and allocate resources
- Objective 4: Ensure the privacy and security of data and safety and security of employees
(Hat Tip: Tax Resolution University.)
