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NTEU renewed its opposition to IRS plans to consolidate its call sites after a government study showed an increase both in taxpayer phone calls and in the accuracy of information supplied by employees. The GAO report shows that IRS employee accuracy with tax questions over the past six years has claimed to more than 90 percent decline in wait times for such assistance.

In telling GAO that it can close call sites while maintaining customer service levels, even during peak times, the IRS continues to demonstrate a lack of understanding of the critical connection between assisting taxpayers and their compliance with their tax obligations. At the same time, rather than permit the IRS to move ahead with call site closings, the agency should be made to take advantage of any opportunity created to shift enforcement personnel into those functions rather than contract collection efforts to the private sector. The agency itself acknowledges that its own employees can perform tax collection duties more effectively and efficiently than private debt collectors. Melding enforcement, collections and customer service—and providing sufficient staffing and resources—is the only way to attack in any meaningful sense the growing multi-billion-dollar tax gap.