NSA Sends Letter To Hill Urging More Funds For IRS
In light of the need for tax reform guidance and the overall decline in IRS customer service due to limited budgets, NSA on January 25 sent a letter to House and Senate Appropriations Committee members asking for an increase in the IRS budget. The letter, signed by NSA President Brian L. Thompson, and NSA Executive Vice President John Ams, urges Committee members to substantially increase appropriations for the IRS from the proposed level of slightly more than $11 billion in order to provide the agency adequate resources to perform its mission. “The Committee budget recommendation would fund the IRS, in total, below their fiscal year 2008 level,” noted the letter, citing a report from the House Subcommittee on Appropriations.
According to Thompson, this funding level also leaves the future uncertain for both the IRS and the taxpaying public. “It’s interesting to note that in the midst of one of the largest tax reform initiatives in more than 30 years, we are seeing budget cuts to the one organization responsible for establishing definitive guidance and regulations, and helping interpret provisions of the newly-created Tax Cuts and Jobs Act,” Thompson noted. “Frankly, we question whether many of the estimated benefits of the Act can be realized in the absence of this much-needed IRS guidance,” he added.
