On July 1, 2019, the Taxpayer First Act of 2019 was signed into law and aims to strengthen taxpayer rights and make IRS services more taxpayer-friendly. The IRS’s main goals as a result of the Taxpayer First Act are: To improve taxpayer experience To modernize the IRS by increasing electronic operations while strengthening traditional services To increase organization within the tax administration To increase cybersecurity and identity protection To enforce a fair and just tax system These big goals will directly affect much of the IRS’s process and procedure in the future, but what does it mean for your business? Cybersecurity and Identity Protection As more and more business and personal experiences migrate to digital platforms, the importance of multifaceted cybersecurity only increases. Under the TFA, the IRS will tackle the issues of identity protection and combating identity fraud. Taxpayer information access will be restricted to decrease the possibility of fraud and other issues; and no local, state, or federal agency will be permitted to request that information from the IRS if it does not have specific protocols in place to protect it. In order to catch errors and identity theft more quickly, all taxpayers are now eligible to receive PINs, previously only offered to individuals whose identities had been stolen in the past. Taxpayer Experience As millions of people flooded government websites to apply for unemployment in early 2020, individuals and businesses know customer operations in government arenas are not easy to navigate. Customer service is of utmost importance for any business, and the IRS is no exception. The TFA has now required the IRS to make operations more taxpayer-friendly. This includes things like increased transparency in reporting and communications, assistance programs, and more. Much of the focus will be on modernizing customer access areas like online portals and improving telephone …
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