IRS Commissioner Koskinen emphasizes agency’s dedication to taxpayers at luncheon

It’s no secret that most Americans despise the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), its commissioner, John Koskinen, acknowledged in a National Press Club luncheon speech March 24 within days of the nation's April 18 income tax filing deadline.

But taxes are the prices citizens pay for a civilized society, Koskinen reminded, quoting legendary former Supreme Court justice Oliver Wendell Holmes.

“A recent poll said that 12 percent of people like Vladimir Putin better than they like the IRS,” he said. “But don’t look for me on CNN riding a horse without a shirt on,” he joked, in a reference to a famous photo of the Russian leader.

Leading an agency beleaguered by budget cuts and the target of presidential candidates calling for its elimination, Koskinen expressed sympathy for Americans who are frustrated with the complexity of the tax code.

“It doesn’t benefit anyone for tax code to be complex,” he said. “We’ll do anything we can to provide technical assistance and work with the Administration, but our main question is, what would be the impact on taxpayers?”

“I’m intrigued, and to some extent, optimistic,” he said, “ that there’s a growing consensus that something has to be done.”

But he wants the public to know, he said, that the agency prioritizes improving the current system and experience for taxpayers. He noted that so far this tax season, the IRS has already received more than 80 million individual income tax returns and issued more than 65 million refunds totaling $190 billion. And, it issues 90 percent of its refunds in 21 days or less.

Koskinen also touched on the extra precautions the agency takes to protect fraudulent activity and identity theft, an issue that’s become increasingly prevalent as hackers develop new ways of stealing information.

Another major priority for the IRS, he stressed, is providing technical assistance to taxpayers. “Almost 40 percent of our budget goes to helping taxpayers comply with the law by providing critical services and investing in taxpayer-friendly technology,” he pointed out.

The agency has taken more than 8 million calls this season from taxpayers, he added.
Koskinen also noted that the IRS brings in about 92 percent of all federal revenue. A majority ($3.3 trillion) comes from people who file voluntarily; the rest ($50 to $60 billion) comes from the IRS enforcing payment.

To illustrate how efficiently the IRS collects revenue, Koskinen planted envelopes at each attendee’s seat. Each envelope was labeled “Do not open until commissioner explains,” and each had 35 cents inside.

Holding up a crisp $100 bill, Koskinen asked how many people would trade him their 35 cents for his $100.

“Well, that’s the deal that you get with the IRS,” he said. “It might sound like a magic trick, but it’s simply good, efficient tax administration. If you add up all the work we do for the tax system — issuing forms, helping taxpayers, sending out notices, conducting audits, etc.— it now costs us about 35 cents to collect $100 in federal revenue. That’s a pretty good deal for the American people.”

Another good deal? The cookies served at the luncheon – some frosted with images of a green $20 bill, others with piggy banks.

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Check out the entire photo gallery from the commissioner's luncheon here.