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For Immediate Release: Thursday, March 23 2006

Contact: (202) 572-5500

Public Relations Department

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A report by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) on an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) proposal to close 68 of its Taxpayer Assistance Centers (TACs) strongly supports the argument raised by the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) that the TAC-closing plan was ill-conceived and unwise. The TIGTA report—“The Taxpayer Assistance Center Closure Plan Was Based On Inaccurate Data”—reinforces many of NTEU’s arguments that the IRS did not fully examine and understand the impact that closing 68 TACs would have on the ability of taxpayers to comply with the tax code. The report contains some shocking revelations about the carelessness of the IRS data collection methods. This raises serious doubts about the credibility of statements the agency made at the time regarding its decision-making process. Unfortunately, TIGTA’s report is disappointingly inconclusive and incomplete. It fails to address the full range of proposed IRS customer service cutbacks as required by the congressional mandate that TIGTA assess the impact on taxpayers of such cuts, including not only in-person assistance, but telephone tax help as well. That failure alone undercuts the usefulness of the report. NTEU believes that TIGTA should go back and rework its report to provide Congress with the exact information it sought.