IRS to use private debt collectors amid huge telephone scam

[Eugene]

Source: Associated Press

IRS to use private debt collectors amid huge telephone scam

By STEPHEN OHLEMACHER
Apr. 4, 2017 3:12 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The IRS is resuming the use of private debt collectors amid a wave of telephone scams in which fake government agents tell innocent taxpayers to pay up or face jail, the tax agency announced Tuesday.

The IRS stopped using private debt collectors in 2009 after the agency determined that IRS employees could better do the work. But Congress passed a law in 2015 requiring the IRS to restart the program.

The IRS says it will soon start turning over the accounts of 100 taxpayers a week to four private debt collectors. The program will grow to 1,000 accounts a week for each firm by the end of summer.

The firms can keep up to 25 percent of what they collect.

To combat fraud, the IRS says it is sending letters to taxpayers alerting them that their accounts are being turned over to private debt collectors. The private companies will then send letters to the taxpayers before calling them.

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Read more: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/d66cb9c340d4427f8e7aeb5f76202256/irs-use-private-debt-collectors-amid-huge-telephone-scam

[metroins]

1. What a horrible idea.

There's so much wrong with this.

Stupid Congress of 2015.

[TheDebbieDee]

3. U can blame the Collections Industry!

A lot of Congressional palms were greased to allow private collectors the chance to collect tax debt! And I'll bet it costs triple the amount to collect, too! Privatization of services ALWAYS results in paying more money for fewer services!

[Lint Head]

2. Well it's that time folks. Get ready for more stories of gung ho overachieving asshat to ruin

people's lives. People who owe nothing to the I.R.S. But. Because a private corporation has this ridiculous internal requirement that processed inventory must have a percentage of increase every quarter.

More misery for the innocent and unfortunate few.

[Rollo]

4. Gotta pay for that wall somehow...

[DuckBurp]

5. When this was tried before, it was found that not only could the IRS do the work better ...

but also sensitive taxpayer information was more secure when it was handled by the IRS. Moreover, private debt collectors used tactics of intimidation and coercion which were strictly prohibited and never utilized by the IRS. You can bet that those private firms have made political contributions in order to get this law passed. Using private debt collectors was, and still is, a really bad idea.