They say death and taxes are the only two certainties in life, but years of budget cuts and workforce reductions have made it harder for the IRS to uphold the second half of the bargain.
After losing more than 16 percent of its funding and nearly a third of its employees since 2010, the agency today lacks the resources to properly enforce tax policy and carry out its mission. But today, officials are turning to technology to help make the most of the money and people it has left.
In the coming months, the agency plans to deploy a tool that would automate a significant portion of its vendor compliance process. The tech, which cost only $190,000 to build, could potentially free up tens of thousands of hours for employees to spend on more meaningful work, according to IRS Chief Procurement Officer Harrison Smith, who’s currently serving a three-month term as the Treasury Department’s acting senior procurement executive.
