WASHINGTON, July 24 (Reuters) - The U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) said on Monday it was ending its policy of unannounced visits to taxpayers by agency revenue officers, reversing a decades-long practise to "reduce public confusion and enhance overall safety measures for taxpayers and employees."
"Effective immediately, unannounced visits will end except in a few unique circumstances and will be replaced with mailed letters to schedule meetings," the IRS said in a statement.
Werfel also noted the security concerns around these unannounced visits and said they created "extra anxiety" for taxpayers.
In place of the unannounced visits, revenue officers will instead make contact with taxpayers through an appointment letter, and schedule a follow-up meeting, according to the new policy.
Such situations number less than a few hundred each year – a small fraction compared to the tens of thousands of unannounced visits that typically occurred annually under the old policy, the IRS said.
Persons:
Danny Werfel, Werfel, Kanishka Singh, Mark Potter
Organizations:
Internal Revenue Service, National Treasury Employees Union, IRS, Thomson
Locations:
summonses, Washington