GAO discussed: (1) the availability of information on the Internal
Revenue Service's (IRS) use of its enforcement authorities to collect
delinquent taxes; and (2) whether information existed that could be used
to determine whether collection enforcement authorities were properly
used.
GAO found that: (1) while IRS has some limited data about its use, and
misuse, of collection enforcement authorities, these data are not
sufficient to show: (a) the extent of the improper use of lien, levy, or
seizure authority; (b) the causes of improper actions; or (c) the
characteristics of taxpayers affected by improper actions; (2) the lack
of information exists because IRS' systems--both manual and
automated--have not been designed to capture and report comprehensive
information on the use and possible misuse of collection authorities;
(3) also, much of the data that are recorded on automated systems cannot
be aggregated without a significant investment of scarce programming
resources; (4) some information is available in manual records,
but--because collection enforcement actions can be taken by a number of
different IRS offices and records resulting from these actions are not
always linked to IRS' automated information systems--this information
cannot be readily assembled to assess the use of enforcement actions;
(5) also, data are not readily available from other potential sources,
such as taxpayer complaints, because, in many circumstances, IRS does
not require that information on the resolution of the complaints be
recorded; (6) IRS officials told GAO that collecting complete data on
the use of enforcement actions that would permit an assessment of the
extent and possible causes of misuse of these authorities is unnecessary
because they have adequate checks and balances in place to protect
taxpayers; and (7) however, IRS does not have the data that would permit
it or Congress to readily resolve resonable questions about the extent
to which IRS' collections enforcement authorities are misused, the
causes of those occurrences, the characteristics of the affected
taxpayers, or whether IRS' checks and balances over the use of
collection enforcement authorities are working as intended.
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