IRS Commissioner Says Inconsistent Funding Not Helping With IT Modernization

Charles Rettig, the commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service, said inconsistent and uncertain IT funding provided by Congress to the agency makes it hard to develop a cohesive technology plan.

Rettig, speaking at a House Oversight and Reform Subcommittee on Government Operations hearing, responded to criticism from lawmakers over a backlog of over 5 million unprocessed paper tax returns at the IRS. He cited numerous continuing resolutions signed by lawmakers since 2001 to provide interim funding to government agencies.

The commissioner also noted that continuing resolutions delayed the passing of annually appropriated legislation, FedScoop reported.

According to Rep. Gerry Connolly, chairman of the government operations subcommittee, the IRS is experiencing IT deficiencies because of years of neglect and its failure to modernize its outdated systems. Rep. Jody Hice, meanwhile, said that funding alone will not solve the agency’s IT woes.

Connolly introduced a piece of legislation in April to require the IRS to add bar codes to all tax forms. According to the representative, bar codes will allow the agency to process taxes electronically instead of the manual process that the organization is currently using.

In response to the hearing, a representative from the Professional Managers Association said both technological advancements and appropriate funding should be a point of focus.