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Washington, D.C.—While modernization of the Internal Revenue Service is “on the right track,” the leader of the union representing IRS employees told a key public-private body today, Congress and the taxpayers won’t realize the full benefits of these efforts unless the IRS has adequate resources, and a “downward trend” in agency staffing is turned around.

President Colleen M. Kelley of the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) told the IRS Oversight Board, a seven member body established by the 1998 IRS restructuring law, that the agency has nearly 20,000 fewer employees than just a decade ago.

Kelley noted, as did the Oversight Board in its most recent annual report, that examination of tax returns has declined in that same period. “With increased staffing,” she said, “the IRS will be able to increase tax compliance and enforcement activity, while simultaneously continuing to deliver better service to the taxpayers.”

Working through NTEU, thousands of IRS employees have played direct and important roles in the continuing modernization effort, which is the largest restructuring of a government agency in the nation’s history. NTEU represents some 97,000 IRS employees.

President Kelley encouraged other steps for improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the IRS workforce, including substantial modification of the section of the restructuring law calling for mandatory termination of employment for violation of any of ten specified acts, including the late filing of a tax return.

This section of the law “has had a chilling effect” on the ability of IRS employees to do their jobs, the NTEU leader said. “Without question, the mandatory termination penalty is unduly harsh.”

The union president encouraged the IRS to seek and use the expertise of employees before decisions are made, rather than merely directing front line employees to implement changes. “Productivity will increase in an environment where employees are valued and their work is recognized and rewarded,” she said.

Kelley also recommended an increase in training for employees, and urged that training be “better integrated” into the IRS modernization plans, noting that “increased funding alone will not improve the IRS training programs—but better utilization of training resources will.”

She called for broader and easier electronic access to the Internal Revenue Manual and for the expanded availability of training manuals and similar materials.

“IRS employees are committed to delivering first-class customer service and to enforcing the tax code in a fair manner,” she told the Oversight Board, “but without some changes, they will continue to have a difficult time meeting these goals.”

NTEU is the largest independent federal union, representing some 150,000 employees in 25 agencies and departments.