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Washington, D.C.—In a report to Congress, the National Taxpayer Advocate—an important and independent voice on Internal Revenue Service (IRS) matters—objected to IRS private tax collection outsourcing plans that would subject elderly taxpayers receiving Social Security to harassment by debt collectors.

National Taxpayer Advocate Nina Olson has raised objections to the program, scheduled to begin next month, similar to those voiced by the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU).

Under the private debt collection plan, the IRS is unable to ensure that taxpayers, who have levies placed on their incomes under the Federal Payment Levy Program (FPLP), will be excluded from private collection actions. Many taxpayers under the levy program are seniors on Social Security.

“It is bad enough that many senior citizens are facing having their Social Security checks attached, but to compound that injury by unleashing debt collectors on them is scandalous,” said NTEU President Colleen M. Kelley.

In her most recent report, Olson notes a 165 percent increase—in the first seven months of this year—in cases where Social Security checks of senior citizens are being levied, to capture tax debts.

Turning these cases over to debt collectors as well will cause considerable confusion and hardship for taxpayers, the report said.

“We do not believe it is appropriate for private collectors to pursue taxpayers who are already under existing FPLP levies, some of whom will be elderly taxpayers receiving Social Security payments,” Olson’s report stated.

“Private collectors should not be needlessly introduced into what is already a troubled initiative,” Olson said.

President Kelley said it was “shocking that the IRS would move forward with this system in the face of such a fundamental flaw.”

In addition, Olson said, by allowing collection agencies to pursue installment agreements on accounts where the IRS is already obtaining payments through the levy process, “the IRS is paying commissions to private collectors for work that IRS employees have already performed.”

Kelley, who noted that the IRS has a long history of failed contract oversight, said this latest report highlights yet another serious problem with this misguided scheme.

“It makes no sense to put taxpayers, their confidential financial information and the public’s confidence in the IRS at risk in this way,” said Kelley, who has been leading the fight against the IRS plan, warning of the serious risks to sensitive and personal taxpayer information once it is in the hands of debt collectors.

Taxpayer Advocate Olson told Congress her office will monitor the outsourcing initiative closely, with respect to specific cases and systemic issues, and will share any significant observations or concerns with Congress.

Olson’s office said it also plans to track the amount of “re-work” the initiative creates for IRS employees to help facilitate comprehensive and accurate return-on-investment calculations to assist in evaluating the program.

NTEU is the largest independent federal union, representing some 150,000 employees in 30 agencies and departments, including about 94,000 in the IRS.