IRS Says Private Debt Collectors Costly

[Rose Siding]

WASHINGTON -- The nation's chief tax collector said Wednesday that using private agencies to collect debts under a new program will cost more than hiring additional agents to do the job.

But IRS Commissioner Mark Everson also said it's a necessary part of Washington's budget battles.

Everson told Rep. Steven Rothman, D-N.J., he agreed with an assessment that using private agencies will cost the government more.

"I admit it. I freely admit it," Everson said.
....
"It is wasting taxpayer money," Rothman said. "It's offensive to me. It's offensive to my constituents."
....
"That's a bad place to be," Everson said, eliciting laughs from lawmakers.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/29/AR2006032901658.html

[geomon666]

1. So let me get this straight.

The IRS is under budget strains. So they're going to hire outside help, which will cost more money, to collect money for the government that's not paying them?

We are so f***ed.

[leesa]

2. Privatization has not worked in one single case...why would this be

different? It's a disaster and many times more expensive no matter what the scenario.

[struggle4progress]

3. Protests could delay outsourcing of tax collection

By Jenny Mandel
[e-mail]

Protests filed by unsuccessful bidders may cause delays in an Internal Revenue Service initiative to hire private sector companies to help collect tax debt.

Livermore, Calif.-based Diversified Collection Services and Houston, Texas-based GC Services have filed protests with the Government Accountability Office over the IRS' process for selecting three collection companies to carry out the first phase of the initiative.

The protests were filed on March 17 and March 20, according to GAO Senior Attorney Edward Goldstein, shortly after the March 9 announcement of the contract award. IRS spokesman John Lipold said it is not yet clear whether the protests will affect the timeline for work on the contract. <snip>

http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=33748&dcn=todaysnews