Due to customer service jobs made possible by $80 billion in extra IRS funding over a decade, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service gave live assistance to 87% of taxpayers’ phone calls during the 2023 tax filing season, up from 15%, the U.S. Treasury stated on Monday.
The Treasury reported that as Tuesday’s tax filing deadline drew near, the IRS was able to handle 2.4 million more calls through April 7 in 2023 than it did in 2022, with call waiting times dropping to four minutes from 27 minutes thanks to the hiring of 5,000 new employees.
Inflation Reduction Act funds will be used by the IRS to hire roughly 20,000 new employees over the next two years, including the 5,000 new taxpayer services employees.
As part of their demands for spending reductions in exchange for lifting the $31.4 trillion debt ceiling for the United States, Republicans in the House of Representatives have targeted the $80 billion in new IRS money. The investment, which is in addition to the agency’s yearly operating budget, is intended to strengthen enforcement and audits for rich taxpayers and business partnerships, update computer systems, and enhance taxpayer services.
