Sen. Chuck Grassley, ranking member of the Committee on Finance, today made the
following comment on a new report from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration
on the congressionally created IRS program to use private contractors to collect owed taxes.
“The report shows the IRS properly developed and implemented the private debt collection
program. The agency is working to ensure that the program adequately protects taxpayers’ rights
and privacy. And the report finds that the IRS maintained proper oversight of the private debt
collection contractors and took appropriate steps to ensure that contractor employees received
adequate training on applicable laws and regulations before allowing them access to federal tax
information. My colleagues who are trying to repeal the private debt collection program before it’s
had a chance to work should read this report. It will ease their concerns. This doesn’t mean we need
to stop monitoring the program. But the report’s findings show the program is off to the right start.
As the IRS commissioner has said, private debt collection will help us narrow the tax gap and bring
in owed tax dollars."
