IRS plans to hire 5,000 customer service reps
CBSN
The IRS will tap some of its new $80 billion in funding to hire 5,000 new customer service representatives, with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen telling CBS News chief White House correspondent Nancy Cordes in an interview that the tax agency will be able to handle 85% of calls next year.
That would amount to a marked improvement for the IRS, which warned in January that Americans were unlikely to get through to an IRS employee via its phone lines during the 2022 tax season. Only about 10% of calls were answered by the IRS this past tax season, Yellen said, adding that taxpayers can look forward to a more "beneficial" experience in 2023.
Key to the IRS beefing up its staffing and technology is $80 billion in funding directed to the agency over the next decade under the Inflation Reduction Act, which President Biden signed into law in August. The bulk of that money will be spent on hiring more enforcement agents, an issue that has alarmed some Republican lawmakers and taxpayers who have expressed fear that IRS agents may target workers and middle-class families with audits.
