This second installment on Taxpayer's Rights is about the second Right listed in the Taxpayer Bill of Rights, the Right to Quality Service. The IRS is supposed to provide prompt, courteous, and professional service to all taxpayers. The IRS representatives are supposed to speak to taxpayers in ways that the taxpayer can easily understand, to provide understandable info and be able to speak to a supervisor about inadequate service. If you feel you haven't gotten good service, don't hesitate to speak to a supervisor.
I have had many dealings with the IRS over the phone and have always had staff members be professional with my requests. The only issue I have is with the length of time it takes to get to speak to someone. Due to the lack of staff or an overwhelming amount of calls, I have had to wait one-half hour for a customer service rep, at times, and once spent an hour and forty-five minutes waiting. I think that Congress needs to increase the IRS funding instead of decreasing it.
We taxpayers need to remember that the IRS is working for us, the American People, by administering the tax laws to provide funding for the U.S. government. When we have an issue or are told we didn't fill out our tax forms correctly, we should be treated professionally, not have to either wait too long to talk with someone, or have the issue explained in legalese which makes us even more confused after the explanation. I have seen many a letter from the IRS that taxpayers can't understand. I hope that the IRS learns to write clearer, more understandable letters or at least provide a "translation" into everyday language. That would be part of the Right to Quality Service that we are being promised by the IRS.