Tax Fairness Coalition Responds to Latest Attempt to Repeal IRS Private Debt Collection Program

The Tax Fairness Coalition, a group of private collection agencies committed to helping the IRS close the tax gap, today issued the following statement in response to the latest attempt to repeal the IRS Private Debt Collection Program:

“It’s unfortunate that the American taxpayer once again plays second fiddle to special interests and partisan politics. At a time when uncollected tax debt is at a ten year high, we cannot afford to eliminate a common sense, well run public-private partnership that is the only program successfully working to close the $345 billion tax gap.

“The fact remains, the IRS Private Debt Collection Program has returned more than $80 million to the U.S. Treasury that would otherwise never be collected by the IRS. The companies working on this initiative have demonstrated the highest levels of professionalism with respect to taxpayer rights and protection of taxpayer information. There is no other program in place to collect delinquent taxes that add as much as $2700 to the average American’s tax bill each year.

“What critics of this program fail to see is that the issue here is not whether the IRS or private debt collection agencies can do this work more efficiently or better, it’s whether these delinquent taxes are collected at all. Time and time again the answer is the same: without this program, the IRS would not collect these taxes.

That means each year up to $20 billion in delinquent taxes simply rolls off the books because of statute of limitations, adding to our ever growing tax gap and leaving the American taxpayer footing the bill.”

About the Tax Fairness Coalition
The Tax Fairness Coalition represents a group of private collection agencies committed to helping the IRS close the tax gap, and returning those funds to the U.S. Treasury so they can pay for critical investments in areas such as education and health care. The Coalition believes the collection of overdue taxes is about fundamental fairness to the vast majority of Americans who pay their taxes on time and as required by law, as much as it is about dollars and cents.