IRS' Efforts to Evaluate the Section 1203 Process for Employee Misconduct and Measure Its Impacts on Tax Administration
Gao ID: GAO-04-1039R September 27, 2004Congress has long stressed the importance of proper treatment of taxpayers by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). This emphasis was a major impetus for the IRS Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998, which included numerous additional protections for taxpayers. Among these was Section 1203, which defines 10 acts or omissions for which an IRS employee is to be fired. Most, but not all, of the acts or omissions involve mistreatment of taxpayers, such as by falsifying information or by harassing them. At the same time, Congress has been concerned about IRS's ability to administer the tax laws, including whether the Section 1203 provisions could hamper IRS's enforcement efforts by having a "chilling effect" on IRS employees' willingness to take appropriate enforcement actions against noncompliant taxpayers. Related concerns are whether the IRS and the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) process for reviewing allegations made against employees is too time consuming and inconsistent, and whether all the Section 1203 provisions should be retained. In February 2003, we recommended that IRS evaluate the effectiveness of changes it made to speed up and otherwise improve the review of Section 1203 allegations. Congress is now considering legislation that would amend Section 1203 by, for example, deleting the requirement that IRS employees be fired for failing to file a tax return on time when they are owed a refund. This report responds to a Congressional request for information on IRS's Section 1203 process. Specifically, Congress asked for the (1) statistics on Section 1203 allegations and related actions taken; (2) status of any changes to the Section 1203 process and actions taken on our previous recommendation to evaluate the process; and (3) actions taken and data collected to measure the effects of Section 1203 on tax administration, particularly IRS's enforcement programs.
Since Section 1203 took effect in July 1998, the number of allegations filed annually peaked at about 1,700 in 2000. However, the number of allegations regarding taxpayer and employee rights versus those regarding IRS employee compliance with federal tax filing and reporting laws differed over the years. From 1998 to 2000, the number of Section 1203 allegations regarding taxpayer and employee rights increased, particularly from 1999 to 2000. Since 2000, most types of taxpayer and employee rights allegations have decreased each year. For example, Section 1203 allegations related to retaliation or harassment declined from 1,000 in 2000 to 143 in 2003. In contrast, Section 1203 allegations related to employee noncompliance with tax filing and reporting laws steadily increased almost each year since 1998. Partial year data for 2004 through April suggest that this trend might continue. IRS and TIGTA managers stated that the basic Section 1203 process has not changed since 2002. However, IRS managers added that an IRS task force is studying the part of the process that deals with the Employee Tax Compliance (ETC) process and plans to recommend changes during November 2004. This task force is to identify ways to (1) more quickly process ETC issues including Section 1203 allegations and (2) more effectively educate employees about their responsibilities to comply with federal tax law. IRS is also taking some actions to implement our previous recommendation on evaluating the Section 1203 process, but has not yet developed a full set of goals and measures for evaluating the process. IRS has not yet measured the effects of Section 1203 on enforcement programs. In light of IRS officials stating that they still believe that Section 1203 can have a chilling effect on enforcement, measuring these effects is important. IRS plans to measure employees' willingness to take enforcement actions under Section 1203, using a revised version of the survey we used for our 2003 report to identify the extent of their willingness. According to an IRS official, IRS plans to administer the survey by the end of calendar year 2004. For now, the survey is to be administered to IRS enforcement employees who contact small business and self-employed taxpayers about their tax compliance. IRS officials said they are concerned about the time and effort of continually doing the survey, particularly when so few allegations in recent years have involved contacts with taxpayers. They also said that they are considering other means for getting input on the impacts of Section 1203 on enforcement, such as through focus groups. IRS officials said that after the survey is completed in 2004, they will decide whether and how often to administer the survey and whether other IRS employees should be included.
GAO-04-1039R, IRS' Efforts to Evaluate the Section 1203 Process for Employee Misconduct and Measure Its Impacts on Tax Administration
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September 27, 2004:
The Honorable Bill Thomas:
Chairman, Committee on Ways and Means:
House of Representatives:
The Honorable Amo Houghton:
Chairman, Subcommittee on Oversight:
Committee on Ways and Means:
House of Representatives:
Subject: IRS' Efforts to Evaluate the Section 1203 Process for
Employee Misconduct and Measure Its Impacts on Tax Administration:
Congress has long stressed the importance of proper treatment of
taxpayers by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). This emphasis was a
major impetus for the IRS Restructuring and Reform Act of
1998,[Footnote 1] which included numerous additional protections for
taxpayers. Among these was Section 1203, which defines 10 acts or
omissions for which an IRS employee is to be fired.[Footnote 2] Most,
but not all, of the acts or omissions involve mistreatment of
taxpayers, such as by falsifying information or by harassing
them.[Footnote 3]
At the same time, Congress has been concerned about IRS's ability to
administer the tax laws, including whether the Section 1203 provisions
could hamper IRS's enforcement efforts by having a "chilling effect" on
IRS employees' willingness to take appropriate enforcement actions
against noncompliant taxpayers. Related concerns are whether the IRS
and the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA)
process for reviewing allegations made against employees is too time
consuming and inconsistent,[Footnote 4] and whether all the Section
1203 provisions should be retained. In February 2003, we recommended
that IRS evaluate the effectiveness of changes it made to speed up and
otherwise improve the review of Section 1203 allegations. Congress is
now considering legislation that would amend Section 1203 by, for
example, deleting the requirement that IRS employees be fired for
failing to file a tax return on time when they are owed a refund.
This report responds to your request for information on IRS's Section
1203 process. Specifically, you asked for the (1) statistics on
Section 1203 allegations and related actions taken; (2) status of any
changes to the Section 1203 process and actions taken on our previous
recommendation[Footnote 5] to evaluate the process; and (3) actions
taken and data collected to measure the effects of Section 1203 on tax
administration, particularly IRS's enforcement programs. We briefed
your staff on our results on June 17, 2004, and July 27, 2004. As
agreed with your staff at those briefings, we updated our briefing
slides to include additional statistics on Section 1203 allegations and
the most current information on the Section 1203 process. Our updated
briefing slides are enclosed.
Results:
The number of Section 1203 allegations concerning taxpayer and employee
rights has declined since 2000, while the number concerning IRS
employee tax compliance has varied. After investigation, few
allegations have resulted in employee firings. While IRS and TIGTA took
some actions to implement our 2003 recommendation on evaluating the
Section 1203 process, neither agency had yet developed a balanced set
of goals and measures as we recommended. Similarly, IRS took some
actions toward measuring the effects of Section 1203 on tax
administration through a survey of selected IRS employees, but IRS had
not yet committed to regularly surveying its employees to measure these
effects over time.
Statistics on Section 1203 Allegations, Investigations, and Outcomes:
Since Section 1203 took effect in July 1998, the number of allegations
filed annually peaked at about 1,700 in 2000, as shown in slide 12.
However, the number of allegations regarding taxpayer and employee
rights versus those regarding IRS employee compliance with federal tax
filing and reporting laws differed over the years.
From 1998 to 2000, the number of Section 1203 allegations regarding
taxpayer and employee rights increased, particularly from 1999 to 2000.
Since 2000, most types of taxpayer and employee rights allegations have
decreased each year. For example, Section 1203 allegations related to
retaliation or harassment declined from 1,000 in 2000 to 143 in 2003.
In contrast, Section 1203 allegations related to employee noncompliance
with tax filing and reporting laws steadily increased almost each year
since 1998. Partial year data for 2004 through April suggest that this
trend might continue.
Although 88 percent of the allegations filed between July 1998 and
April 2004 were completely investigated, 13 percent of these completed
investigations substantiated the allegation made. However, differences
exist by type of allegation in the number of completed investigations
and substantiated allegations (see slide 16). Of 2,477 completed
investigations of taxpayer and employee rights allegations, 36 (1.5
percent) were substantiated. More allegations regarding noncompliance
with federal tax laws were substantiated; of 2,986 completed
investigations, 667 (22.3 percent) were substantiated.
Of the 582 substantiated allegations where penalty decisions were
complete,[Footnote 6] 126 (21.7 percent) resulted in employee firings.
Another 149 (25.6 percent) resulted in employees resigning or retiring,
and 257 (44.2 percent) resulted in penalty mitigation. Another 50 cases
or 8.6 percent were closed because the employee separated for other
reasons. The vast majority of the firings and other penalties were for
noncompliance with federal tax laws, because such cases were the vast
majority of substantiated allegations. Slide 17 has details.
Status and Evaluation of the Section 1203 Process:
IRS and TIGTA managers stated that the basic Section 1203 process has
not changed since 2002. However, IRS managers added that an IRS task
force is studying the part of the process that deals with the Employee
Tax Compliance (ETC) process and plans to recommend changes during
November 2004. This task force is to identify ways to (1) more quickly
process ETC issues including Section 1203 allegations and (2) more
effectively educate employees about their responsibilities to comply
with federal tax law.
IRS also is taking some actions to implement our previous
recommendation on evaluating the Section 1203 process, but has not yet
developed a full set of goals and measures for evaluating the
process. We had recommended that IRS and TIGTA develop an approach
for evaluating the Section 1203 process, using (1) results-oriented
goals, (2) balanced performance measures to assess progress towards
those goals, and (3) methods for collecting and analyzing data related
to the goals and measures. IRS program managers stated that they are
developing a data sharing system in conjunction with TIGTA that could
be used to evaluate the entire Section 1203 process. Depending on the
results of pilot testing during the fall of 2004, this system could be
implemented as early as December 2004.
Although IRS and TIGTA have developed goals and measures on the
timeliness of certain parts of the Section 1203 process, they have not
developed other goals and measures, such as on the quality of the
process or the satisfaction of those involved in the process. Without
these other goals and measures, IRS does not have a balanced evaluation
system. In other programs, IRS relies on a balanced set of goals and
measures that address the results of the program (such as making
quality decisions in a timely manner), and the satisfaction of
customers and employees (such as their views on fairness and
timeliness).
Having more than one goal and measure and then balancing those goals
and measures is important to avoid adverse effects. For example, if
improvements are made in the timeliness of the process but the quality
of the decisions made during screening, investigating, and adjudicating
is poor, or if those involved in the process view the process as unfair
or incomplete, the net effect could be negative.
IRS managers explained that the Section 1203 process has been evolving
since they implemented the changes during 2002. As a result, they said
that they have not taken the time to focus on other potential goals and
measures. Even so, they stated that they believe that the process is
rigorous and subjects each allegation to multiple levels of review in
an attempt to ensure quality in making sensitive decisions about
employees' careers. They agreed, however, that other goals and
measures would provide a more balanced evaluation system and that they
will consider developing others.
Measuring the Effects of Section 1203 on Tax Administration:
IRS has not yet measured the effects of Section 1203 on enforcement
programs. In light of IRS officials stating that they still believe
that Section 1203 can have a chilling effect on enforcement, measuring
these effects is important. IRS plans to measure employees' willingness
to take enforcement actions under Section 1203, using a revised version
of the survey we used for our 2003 report to identify the extent of
their willingness. According to an IRS official, IRS plans to
administer the survey by the end of calendar year 2004. For now, the
survey is to be administered to IRS enforcement employees who contact
small business and self-employed taxpayers about their tax compliance.
IRS has not yet decided how regularly to administer the survey and for
which types of employees. For example, IRS could also survey certain
types of enforcement employees who interact with individual taxpayers
who do not have business incomes and who have been subjected to Section
1203 allegations. The planned survey could be administered to more
types of employees. Further, IRS could administer the survey
regularly, such as annually or every 2 years. Having a regular
measurement would give IRS some indication of whether its employees are
more or less willing to perform their duties as assigned under the
purview of Section 1203.
IRS officials said they are concerned about the time and effort of
continually doing the survey, particularly when so few allegations in
recent years have involved contacts with taxpayers. They also said that
they are considering other means for getting input on the impacts of
Section 1203 on enforcement, such as through focus groups. IRS
officials said that after the survey is completed in 2004, they will
decide whether and how often to administer the survey and whether other
IRS employees should be included.
Concluding Observations:
IRS and TIGTA have taken initial steps toward developing an approach
for evaluating the entire Section 1203 process. However, IRS and TIGTA
have not yet developed a balanced set of goals and measures, as
recommended in our 2003 report. Given our previous recommendation and
because of the ongoing development of the evaluation system for the
Section 1203 process, we are not making a new recommendation. Rather,
we will continue to track actions to meet our previous recommendation
until we see the development of a balanced set of measures.
IRS has also taken initial steps to measure the effects of Section 1203
on tax administration by asking certain types of enforcement employees
about their willingness to enforce the tax laws given Section 1203.
This survey is important to IRS management to periodically get an
indication of how Section 1203 affects IRS employees' willingness to
enforce the tax laws, regardless of whether they have had a Section
1203 allegation. Any IRS employee who contacts taxpayers could be
subjected to a Section 1203 allegation, which could affect their
willingness to take enforcement actions. However, IRS has not yet
committed to regularly surveying IRS employees, in part because of the
time and effort of doing surveys. As stated previously, because IRS is
considering such a commitment as it continues to develop the
measurement system, we are not yet making a recommendation.
Scope and Methodology:
To determine the number, type, and disposition of Section 1203
allegations, we analyzed data from IRS's Automated Labor and Employee
Relations Tracking System (ALERTS) database as of April 30, 2004. The
data included all Section 1203 cases that originated in IRS or TIGTA
and were either investigated by TIGTA or referred to IRS for
investigation or adjudication. On the basis of our review of IRS's
documentation and interviews with IRS officials, we have determined how
IRS ensures the accuracy and completeness of the ALERTS data entry and
processing as well as maintenance of data integrity. In addition, our
testing of the ALERTS database indicated that the data are sufficiently
reliable for purposes of this report.
To describe the status of any changes to the Section 1203 process, our
previous recommendation on evaluating the process, and actions taken
and data collected to measure the effects of Section 1203 on IRS's
enforcement programs, we interviewed IRS's Employee Conduct and
Compliance Office staff. We also collected information from IRS
offices responsible for handling allegations on employee tax compliance
and discrimination, which used variations of the basic Section 1203
process. Although our previous recommendation covered all parts of the
Section 1203 process, our briefing slides focused on the basic Section
1203 process that involved allegations on the treatment of taxpayers
rather than on misconduct internal to IRS.
We supplemented this work with interviews of TIGTA and IRS's Office of
Program Evaluation and Risk Analysis (OPERA) staff. We also reviewed
various IRS documents on the timeliness of processing Section 1203
allegations. Finally, we obtained information from staff of IRS's Wage
and Income Division as well as the Small Business/Self Employed
Division on training provided to the employees of these divisions about
Section 1203. We conducted our work from April 2004 through July 2004
in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards.
Agency Comments and Our Evaluation:
We asked IRS and TIGTA to provide us comments on a draft of this
report. The IRS Commissioner responded on September 15, 2004, saying
that IRS is continuing to develop balanced goals and measures for
evaluating the Section 1203 process (see app. I). He referred to
timeliness goals and measures and to a 100 percent review of all
Section 1203 cases as a measure of quality. He also referred to plans
to revise our 2002 survey and administer it to selected IRS enforcement
employees to measure, among other things, the extent to which they are
willing to take specific enforcement actions given Section 1203 and the
extent to which they think that a Section 1203 allegation will be
handled timely and fairly as a measure of employee satisfaction.
We view these steps as progress. However, unless the 100-percent review
for quality has a clear definition of quality as well as specific
measures and goals to track quality--as we recommended in our 2003
report--the results will be difficult to interpret. Similarly, IRS has
not made decisions on the specific goals and measures for the
satisfaction of employees engaged in the Section 1203 process or
affected by the process.
On September 13, 2004, the Acting Inspector General for TIGTA
acknowledged our findings and decision to track progress in meeting our
2003 recommendation rather than make a new one (see app. II). She
referred to the challenge in developing a coordinated evaluation system
for the Section 1203 process because of TIGTA's independence in
overseeing IRS. She said TIGTA has its own set of goals, measures, and
performance data for evaluating TIGTA's processing of all complaints
and investigations, including those involving Section 1203. She also
pointed to workload indicators such as timeliness to ensure quality
performance, and to meetings with IRS employees to solicit input on
their satisfaction.
We acknowledged TIGTA's concern with independence in our 2003 report,
discussing why coordination with IRS on how each agency will evaluate
its part of the Section 1203 process need not jeopardize TIGTA's
independence. Our issue now is whether each agency has produced a
balanced evaluation system for its part of the process. While TIGTA has
made progress, its goals and measures for employee satisfaction do not
specifically tie to Section 1203 investigations, and it has no goals
and measures for customer satisfaction with the Section 1203 process.
As a result, determining whether employee or customer satisfaction with
the process is increasing or decreasing is not possible.
We recognize that costs would be associated with producing goals and
measures. However, the attention given the Section 1203 process by
taxpayers, IRS employees, and the Congress shows the importance of
having balanced goals and measures for reliable monitoring of how well
the process works.
We are sending copies of this report to the Commissioner of Internal
Revenue and other interested parties. We will make copies available to
others upon request. This report will also be available at no charge
on GAO's Web site at http://www.gao.gov.
This report was prepared under the direction of Tom Short, Assistant
Director. Other major contributors included Perry Datwyler, MacDonald
Phillips, Jeff Schmerling, Brenda Rabinowitz, Evan Gilman, Shirley
Jones, and Michael Rose. If you have any questions about this report,
please contact me at whitej@gao.gov or Tom Short at shortt@gao.gov or
either of us at (202) 512-9110.
Signed by:
James R. White:
Director, Tax Issues:
Enclosure:
[See PDF for image]
[End of slide presentation]
[End of section]
Appendix I: Comments from the Internal Revenue Service:
COMMISSIONER:
DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY:
INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE:
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20224:
September 15, 2004:
Mr. James R. White:
Director, Tax Issues:
United States Government Accountability Office:
441 G Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20548:
Dear Mr. White:
Thank you for the opportunity to review the draft report, "Statistics
on Section 1203, and IRS's Efforts to Evaluate the Section 1203 Process
and Measure the Impacts," (GAO-04-1039R). We also appreciate the good
working relationship we developed with your staff during this review,
and the input they provided us on our plans to implement a follow-up
survey to the survey GAO completed in 2002.
As discussed in the draft report, we are continuing to develop a
balanced set of goals and measures for evaluating the Section 1203
process. As a result of our own internal work with contractors and your
last review, we implemented procedural changes in processing Section
1203 cases that resulted in a 100% independent review of all
allegations, which we consider to be a quality measure. We also set
goals for timely processing of cases as identified in your report.
Finally, as noted in the slides of your draft report, we are conducting
a follow-up survey to your survey of Small Business/Self-Employed (SB/
SE) employees. Our goal is to measure, among other things, whether
there have been any changes in their perception of whether Section 1203
is impacting their willingness to take enforcement actions. We
purposefully limited the survey to SB/SE employees so that we could
compare the results with your initial survey. In this same survey, we
also are getting a baseline measure of whether employees think a
Section 1203 allegation against them will be handled in a timely and
fair manner.
We will continue to look at ways to measure our current processing and
to improve service to taxpayers and employees in implementing Section
1203. We anticipate being able to share the results of our survey of
SB/SE frontline compliance staff with you sometime in the second
quarter of 2005 and look forward to continuing to work with you on
Section 1203 implementation. If you have any questions, please call
Ronald Glaser, Director, Employee Conduct and Compliance Office, at
(202) 622-4381.
Sincerely,
Signed by:
Mark W. Everson:
Appendix II: Comments from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax
Administration:
DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY:
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20005:
September 13, 2004:
Mr. James R. White:
Director, Tax Issues:
U.S. Government Accountability Office:
441 G Street N.W. Room 2440C:
Washington, DC 20548:
Dear Mr. White,
We have reviewed the draft report concerning the Internal Revenue
Service (IRS) and the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration
(TIGTA) processing of alleged Section 1203 violations and the
implementation of "balanced" performance measures. The report is
entitled Statistics on Section 1203, and IRS's Efforts to Evaluate the
Section 1203 Process and Measure the Impacts (GAO-04-1039R). We
appreciate the opportunity to comment on the report.
This draft report responds to a Congressional request for information
on the IRS Section 1203 process. Specifically, the U.S. Government
Accountability Office (GAO) was asked for (1) statistics on Section
1203 allegations and related actions taken; (2) status of any changes
to the Section 1203 process and actions taken on GAO's previous
recommendation to evaluate the process; and (3) actions taken and data
collected to measure the effects of Section 1203 on tax administration,
particularly IRS's enforcement programs.
Your draft report found that the number of Section 1203 allegations
concerning taxpayer and employee rights has declined since 2000, while
the number concerning IRS employee tax compliance have varied. In
addition, while IRS and TIGTA took some actions to implement GAO's 2003
recommendationl [NOTE 1], neither agency had yet developed a balanced
set of goals and measures as GAO recommended.
This draft report did not make a new recommendation because IRS and
TIGTA have yet to develop a balanced set of goals and measures, as GAO
recommended in 2003. Instead, GAO intends to continue to track IRS and
TIGTA actions to meet previous recommendations until GAO observes the
development of a balanced set of measures.
As noted in our reply to GAO-03-394 dated February 6, 2003, TIGTA
understands the desire to have a jointly established and implemented
plan between IRS and TIGTA for a coordinated evaluation system for the
Section 1203 process. However, there are significant challenges to
meeting this objective. The Inspector General Act of 1978 (IG Act), as
modified by the Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform Act
of 1998 (RRA 98), created TIGTA to provide completely independent
oversight of the IRS. As such, TIGTA has independently established
goals, performance measures, and methods for analyzing performance data
for TIGTA investigations, including Section 1203 allegations. The
development of a joint, balanced set of goals by IRS and TIGTA, at
least in appearance, would compromise our oversight independence, which
was one of the principal congressional purposes for forming TIGTA. As
also noted in our February 6, 2003 reply, TIGTA and the IRS worked
together to create the IRS Board of Professional Responsibility (BEPR),
a streamlined Section 1203 review and adjudication process.
TIGTA has established an effective policy for evaluating all complaints
and investigations, to include Section 1203 issues. TIGTA also utilizes
internal workload indicators (proper complaint triaging and timeliness)
to assist managers in measuring and ensuring quality performance. TIGTA
will continue to gauge customer satisfaction through periodic meetings
with IRS managers and labor relations functions.
Thank you for the opportunity to review and comment on your draft
report regarding the processing of Section 1203 allegations. If you
need any further information, please contact Mr. Timothy Camus,
Assistant Inspector General for Investigations, at (202) 927-7234.
Sincerely,
Signed by:
Pamela J. Gardiner:
Acting Inspector General:
(450320):
FOOTNOTES
[1] P.L. 105-206, July 22, 1998.
[2] The IRS Commissioner has statutory discretion to mitigate the
penalty by imposing some other disciplinary outcome other than firing
the employee who committed a Section 1203 violation.
[3] The 10 acts or omissions under Section 1203 can be broken into two
types--eight relate to employee and taxpayer rights--such as the right
not to be harassed or not to be discriminated against--and two relate
to IRS employee noncompliance with tax laws--such as not filing a
required tax return on time.
[4] TIGTA's role in the process is to investigate most types of Section
1203 allegations, excluding allegations involving employees' tax
noncompliance and discrimination.
[5] GAO, Tax Administration: IRS and TIGTA Should Evaluate Their
Processing of Employee Misconduct under Section 1203, GAO-03-394
(Washington, D.C. Feb. 14, 2003).
[6] Decisions for 121 of the 703 substantiated allegations were still
being processed when we finished our analysis.
