Stop Blaming the IRS

The IRS is not the problem. No amount of staffing will work. The tax code is too complex and needs a complete overhaul.

Millions of taxpayers struggle to get help from the IRS, with only about 31% successfully reaching a human representative this tax season. Despite hiring nearly 7,000 new customer-service representatives, the agency still falls short in meeting the demand for assistance. The IRS’s internal watchdog group reports that even with these new hires, taxpayers face significant challenges in resolving their issues.

The core issue lies not with the IRS’s staffing levels but with the overly complex tax code. The tax code’s complexity creates a labyrinth that even the most experienced IRS representatives struggle to navigate. This complexity leads to long wait times, unresolved cases, and immense frustration for taxpayers. The current system, where representatives are either overwhelmed or underutilized, highlights the inefficiency born from trying to manage an inherently convoluted system.

The IRS's service rating of 88% is misleading, as it only covers a fraction of the customer-service numbers and doesn't account for those who hang up in frustration or are rerouted to recorded messages. For instance, less than one-fifth of the 2.1 million people who called the agency’s collections phone line reached a representative. Moreover, there is no data on how effectively these representatives resolve issues once they answer calls.

The agency’s introduction of chatbots, document uploads, and callback options offers some improvement, but these measures are merely bandaids on a gaping wound. The real problem is the tax code itself, which demands a complete overhaul. The complexity and inefficiency it breeds cannot be solved by simply adding more customer-service representatives.

Resolving this issue requires a paradigm shift. Instead of throwing more bodies at the problem, a comprehensive reform of the tax code is needed. Simplifying the tax system would alleviate much of the current strain on the IRS and provide a more streamlined and effective service for taxpayers. It’s time to think differently and address the root cause of the problem: an outdated and overly complicated tax code.