IRS ‘harming’ Americans struggling to meet tax obligations, report says

The IRS is not doing enough to help some taxpayers at risk of economic hardship, according to National Taxpayer Advocate Nina Olson.

Olson said in a blog post this week, the agency is actually harming people who are behind on tax payments, by sometimes allowing them to set up installment payments that are beyond their financial means.

“The IRS’s current approach not only burdens taxpayers but wastes IRS resources and creates rework for IRS and Taxpayer Advocate Service employees,” Olson wrote. “It is way past time for the IRS to be proactive in this arena and use its data to help taxpayers, rather than just harming them.”