Congress, in a law that took effect this month, instructed the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), against its objections, to use private collection agencies for “outstanding inactive tax receivables.” Before the legislation passed, the IRS Taxpayer Advocate Service pointed to a number of problems with this approach, including that it loses money and had failed twice before – a characterization that congressional proponents reject.
But since those attempts, there has been a growing menace that makes the use of bill collectors even more problematic. Generally, the IRS does not contact taxpayers by phone. But legitimate bill collectors and tax scammers do. Once the private collection program begins, which Congress says should be early next year, it will be even more difficult to distinguish between the real and fake bill collectors.
