Congress is damaging the Internal Revenue Service by shortchanging its budget, making it harder for the agency to help taxpayers, detect fraud and bolster revenue collection even as budget deficits surge, a government watchdog said Wednesday. "The imbalance between its workload and its resources is becoming unmanageable," Nina E. Olson, the national taxpayer advocate, wrote in her annual report on the IRS.
Uncle Sam isn't the only one looking to collect from taxpayers this year: A rapidly growing number of Internet scammers are also using the guise of the IRS to siphon money out of consumers' pockets, security experts say.
There may be a way to unlock some extra cash for the holidays right under your nose. If you're getting a tax refund of more than $500 come springtime, it means you are giving the government an interest-free loan. Wouldn't you rather have some of that money now? Here's how to get it.
For some of us, getting a financial fresh start might begin with paying back taxes. More than 1 million taxpayers had federal tax liens filed against them in 2010, a 60% increase from 2007. On Saturday, the IRS will host open houses at 74 Taxpayer Assistance Centers around the country to provide assistance with getting liens withdrawn and answer questions about ongoing issues.
In the complicated, confusing, and confounding world of taxes, we citizens have a little-known ally within the IRS: the Office of the Taxpayer Advocate, Nina Olson. Olson welcomes your thoughts via a suggestion box on tax reform. So far, she's received roughly 1,500 submissions, and she's still asking for more.
