The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) warned the US Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) budget for 2014 is not sufficient to carry out its mission.
In a statement directed toward both chambers of the US Congress, the House of Representatives and the Senate, AICPA urged law-makers to provide the IRS with proper financial resources to perform its duties.
According to AICPA, "the IRS’s budget has been severely challenged" and noted that its overall budget stood at $11.8bn in 2012, down from $12.1bn in the previous financial year.
Also the IRS’s service budget, which stood at $5.3bn, was reduced by $200m and staff numbers also dropped from 104,000 to 98,000 in fiscal year 2012.
AIPCA noted the IRS faces "growing burden" such us new foreign reporting requirements, increased taxpayer identity theft cases and new issues coming for the administration of the Affordable Care Act.
"We are concerned that a reduction in taxpayer service resources would negatively impact both taxpayers and our members alike," AICPA said.
Regarding the IRS workforce AICPA stated its concerns over any reduction in quality or quantity of employee training.
AICPA also observed that younger IRS employees would require substantial training and that the inevitable retirement of older, more experienced employees could lead to a reduction in the organisation’s effectiveness.
The IRS’s need for more advanced and reliable technology was another issue raised in the statement. According to AICPA the IRS’s "systems are still outdated" and the IRS must modernize its IT infrastructure or face growing inefficiency.
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The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants
