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Washington, D.C.—A new report from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) today sharply underscores the continuing cost-efficiency with which IRS employees perform their tax collection and other duties, the head of the union representing tens of thousands of agency employees said.

The annual IRS Data Book, released today, put the cost of collecting $100 by IRS employees in 2007 at a mere 40 cents—a drop of two cents from the 42 cents-per-$100 reported for the year before —further proof that the federal tax collection system is one of the most efficient in the United States.

“These numbers are a testament to the dedication and professionalism of IRS employees,” said President Colleen M. Kelley of the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU). “They are particularly impressive in light of the anti-employee workplace environment generated over the past seven years by the actions and policies of this administration—and by continuing cuts in the IRS workforce.”

Other information in the Data Book confirms the staffing cuts; the total number of IRS employees at year-end 2007 was shown to be 86,638, down from 90,115 at the end of 2006. The 2007 totals also reflect reductions in the number of Revenue Officers and Revenue Agents—two groups of employees playing keys role in the critical collection and tax law enforcement functions.

Just yesterday, in testimony submitted to a House subcommittee reviewing the proposed IRS budget for the coming fiscal year, President Kelley called for a five-year hiring plan to rebuild the agency’s depleted workforce to its pre-1996 levels.

An annual net increase of 3 percent over than period would result in about 2,600 positions per year, Kelley said, and would enable the IRS to deal effectively with a significantly increasing workload.

At the same time, she pointed to the Data Book numbers as additional support for NTEU’s longstanding argument that the IRS’s use of private tax collectors is a waste of taxpayer money. Under the program—the IRS recently extended two contracts—private collectors are paid a bounty of up to 24 percent of the money they collect.

The program has resulted in a net loss to the Treasury in its first year of $50 million even as it has generated multiple taxpayer complaints and violations of their rights, just as NTEU and others predicted.

“The IRS operates one of the most cost-efficient tax collection systems in the world, yet this administration insists on forging ahead with its costly privatization scheme despite dismal financial results and ever-growing opposition,” President Kelley said.

NTEU is the largest independent federal union, representing 150,000 employees in 31 agencies and departments.