IRS limps along into tax season

Newsday: Filing taxes is never much fun, but brace for more misery this year.

There are likely to be delayed refunds, unanswered calls to the IRS, slower resolution of gripes and a greater chance of identity theft. Taxpayers don’t deserve such grief. But we’re all at risk of becoming collateral damage in Washington’s partisan warfare.

The reduced services are the result of budget cuts, according to IRS Commissioner John Koskinen. The agency’s funding has been slashed in recent budget wars, a fight exacerbated recently by GOP accusations that IRS officials haven’t cooperated with members of Congress investigating whether the IRS gave heightened scrutiny to applications for tax- exempt status from conservative organizations.

BUDGET CUT BY $1.1 BILLION

Congress slashed the IRS budget to $10.9 billion this year from $12 billion as recently as 2010. The result? A hiring freeze, no overtime and reduced hours for temporary workers. But the number of returns filed has increased annually to 185 million in 2013. And this year the IRS is responsible for helping to implement the Affordable Care Act.

So by leaning on the IRS, Congress is burdening taxpayers. Those who file paper returns will have to wait an extra week or longer for refunds. Only about half of taxpayers’ calls will be answered. And new measures to thwart identity theft have been delayed. Hobbling the agency that fills government coffers with trillions of dollars a year, and inconveniencing taxpayers in the bargain, is an awful way to conduct the public’s business