The IRS is one of the most confusing entities ever. They take our money throughout the year. Then, they require us to fill out tax returns to tell us how much we need to get back – or how much we need to pay in addition to what we’ve paid throughout the year. Oh, and it costs us to complete these tax returns.
It would be a lot easier if we could get some help with it all.
At the very least, we need some taxpayer relief. Now, it seems that Congress is putting pressure on the IRS to offer some relief. Whether it will happen or what kind of relief could be offered remains to be seen.
There are over 200 lawmakers pushing for the IRS to offer some kind of break on the penalties that are being accumulated due to mail delays.
Tax filing season has just started, and there have already been countless difficulties.
This is not a partisan concern. Members of both the House and Senate, from both parties, are asking the IRS to excuse some of the penalties, delay collections, and even reduce the limits in which a person can claim cause for relief.
A bipartisan letter was written to IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig. Senators Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and Bill Cassidy (R-LA) are the ones taking the lead on this request.
As taxes are already being filed, IRS is still dealing with a backlog of around 15 million pieces of correspondence. Many people are still waiting to have last year’s taxes filed. Many others are waiting to hear back from the IRS regarding tax disputes.
People are being penalized because of the backlog. It’s because there are unprocessed forms. These penalties come in the form of notices, fines, and liens. And it’s not really the fault of the people. It’s because the IRS doesn’t have the manpower to open and answer all of the mail that it is receiving.
It’s clear that the IRS needs some help so that innocent taxpayers aren’t being penalized because of the backlog.
The legislators wrote, “While we recognize no single action will alleviate issues that have resulted from difficulties at the IRS spanning administrations of both political parties, these steps would provide our constituents with greater certainty as we enter this year’s filing season.”
Rettig has been asked for steps that need to be taken so that the “alarming” situation can be remedied.
At the very least, taxpayers need to stop receiving notices and liens until the backlog has been taken care of. There’s a problem with this, though. The IRS doesn’t have the authority to stop issuing many of the notices. They’re legally required to be issued within a specific timeframe.
What this means is that congressional action may need to be taken so that certain notices can be suspended. For that to happen, Congress needs to know what Rettig actually needs. Since there are so many congressional leaders concerned about this, any congressional action needed should pass through both the House and Senate quickly – and this can offer relief to countless taxpayers as they try to deal with the IRS.
Many of the lawmakers are looking to delay the collection of penalties, lift penalties for those who have paid at least 70 percent of their taxes, and speed up the process of amended returns.
While it would be great if the IRS wanted to offer even more perks, at the very least, they need to stop penalizing people due to their own setbacks.
As lawmakers wrote, due to the overload being experienced at the IRS, “frustrated taxpayers” cannot find the help that they need, and legislators are finding their hands to be tied until the IRS identifies what help is needed.
