Advocating Assistance at the IRS

The National Taxpayer Advocate, Nina Olson, has weighed in with her annual assessment of the IRS' operations. Her verdict: Too much enforcement, too little service to taxpayers. Olson's report notes that the agency "has eliminated TeleFile, significantly reduced the number of returns IRS personnel prepare for taxpayers who seek IRS assistance, reduced the percentage of taxpayer calls IRS telephone assisters answer as compared with FY 2004, and substantially reduced its taxpayer education function for small businesses."