The Administrative Role of the IRS
With over 140 million annual returns in the United States the need for an organized and efficient tax collection process is paramount. The IRS which is subdivided into 4 groups (individual, small business, mid to large cap, and government entity/non profit) must ensure the delivery and obtainment of tax documents, records, and returns.
In order to properly supply the groups with documentation, the federal IRS agent must mail corresponding tax forms to the appropriate locations. Each group requires dozens of tax forms, which solidify and organize the collection process. The tax form in essence is the levying process; taxpayers are required to fill out the designated forms to calculate and report their refund or amount owed.
The federal IRS agent acts as the gears in the enormous IRS machine. The IRS agent performs a multitude of tasks, which include:distributes tax forms to appropriate locations and entities, seeks out tax evaders for collection purposes, offers administrative rulings, and reviews tax returns for accuracy and legitimacy.
In addition to supplying and distributing appropriate tax forms, the federal IRS agent will also offer administrative rulings. A revenue ruling is a public decision which simply applies a form of law to a certain situation. The IRS follows a tax code established by the federal government. A revenue ruling is performed by an IRS agent to simply set a precedent, or to match a statute within the coding to a particular scenario or transaction.
The other form administrative ruling offered by a federal IRS agent is known as a private letter ruling. This form of administrative ruling is a written decision authored by the IRS in response to a taxpayers inquiry. These inquiries by nature are private matters, which legally binds only the responding IRS agent and the requesting tax payer.
The federal IRS agent supplies information upon request to individuals or businesses who seek clarity with their tax return. The private letter ruling also keeps the taxpayer informed to any rulings, precedents, or decisions made by the IRS agent overseeing the matter.
The administrative rulings also succeed in limiting the powers of the federal IRS agent. Similar to all administrative pronouncements, taxpayers have the ability to litigate the validity of action taken by the IRS agent. In instances such as these courts can conclude a certain rule to be invalid, which determines federal IRS agent has exceeded his/her authority.
The various IRS pronouncements are published and available for public review in the Internal Revenue Bulletin. The openness and informative nature that an IRS agent must possess enables taxpayers to rely on them, which in turn, aids in the collection process of federally issued taxes.
The administrative role of the IRS is essential to aid taxpayers with their filing processes. IRS agents issue a series of formal pronouncements called Revenue Procedures, which among other things, notify tax payers of errors made in their returns.
Along with the notification the tax payer will be informed by the issuing IRS agent of how to correct the errors and resolve the impending issues. The procedures enforced by the IRS are not limited to taxpayers, but relevant for federal IRS agents as well.
To ensure ethical practice the IRS has adopted the Internal Revenue Manual to outline clerical procedures involved with the processing and auditing of tax returns. The administrative role that an IRS agent must follow is excruciating in detail, and necessary to properly implement a federal tax system as large as the United States'.
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