 internal revenue service IRS tax news IRS independent office of appeals priorities for 2023 focus on taxpayer service oh great improved taxpayer service from the IRS honestly I like I can only assume that that means the IRS is like upgrading to the finest quality handcrafted leather whips and muzzles they're like hey you think paying $10,000 for a hammer is bad wait until you see how much we spend on a whip also the IRS hasn't invested in a good rack for some time resorting to the crude method of stretching people putting ropes around wrists and ankles and using horses to pull them apart I mean what are we in the dark ages exclaim the progressives with technology these days the government should be able to stretch thousands of people like at the push of a button anyway it's first a joke kids are so far behind in school due to COVID absence it's ridiculous I mean my poor kid is so far behind he thinks H2O is some kind of hip-hop star if there is some mental health foundation that raise money for people like you please be sure to let me know last word for you I mean honestly he's forgotten so much about school when I told him we're gonna have PE time in the backyard he went and took a piss on a tree factory that's the last due to COVID absence from school my poor kids so dumb he thinks cloth masks stopped the transmission of COVID I got a real great compliment for you and it's true so afraid you're about to say something awful don't be pessimistic it's not your style oh wait he learned that nonsense in school oh that's great now I'm not even sure if I want going back at all you're gonna regret this the rest of your life both seconds don't worry kids if you're behind though I too was an exceptionally stupid child you've got time to wise up or at least become comfortably content although I wouldn't trust a school system to get you there accounting instruction net that's the ticket and you can get on this school bus without a mask although we still do ask you to cover your mouth when you sneeze because sneezing on people's gross the fast IR 2022-195 November 4 2022 Washington today the IRS independent Office of Appeals released its focus guide there's a link to that here for fiscal year 2023 appeals is taking important steps to expand communications with external stakeholders and to improve taxpayer access to appeals promoting transparency and taxpayer access helps appeals fulfill its mission to resolve tax disputes in a fair and impartial manner without the need for litigation so when we think about our income tax system we have a self reporting system for individual taxes we typically report using the form 1040 however of course the IRS already has a lot of information related to our taxes mainly from people that are paying us like the employer and financial institutions that might be given 1099s related to dividends and interest the employers giving them the W-2s for example so the IRS might then argue they might take a position that is different than what you have reported on the tax return for whatever reason if that happens then they're gonna say hey we're gonna take a different position and and then you can argue back against that and say no I think the position I took was correct now obviously some things are not going to go too far because the basis on arguing back has to be in the current tax laws the tax law is gonna be the thing to drive whether or not the reporting position was correct or not so if you say no I didn't I'm gonna report something different than what was on the W-2 and the W-2 was accurate then it seems difficult that she would win an appeals kind of process in that case however if there's some kind of position that you think is accurate within the tax law that the IRS is saying they're taking a separate position then you can argue against them of course that that appeals process is really important to keep things transparent and fair but it can also expand into like a costly time-consuming process as well and that's that's the kind of stuff that we got a balance between making sure that that's availability is there for people so in any case that's my general overview in any ways so the focus guide outlines the taxpayer service initiatives you can expect over the coming year including increasing tax tax holder outreach including to historically marginalized and limited English proficient communities about the appeals process so clearly if we're gonna have a self-reporting system and the capacity to argue back and say no look I think the position I took was fair in alignment with the law people have to be aware of how that system is going to work and operate so that the system can operate properly improving access to in-person and video conferencing conferences and revise revising letters so there's links to that here for the video conferences which of course is becoming more and more used these days it's a more convenient method for people to be able to get that kind of access as opposed to live in-person kind of communication and in the revising the letters to try to make the letters so that people can understand them as best as possible so they know the steps that are available to them and notices to ensure taxpayers understand that it is generally their choice how to meet with appeals so leveraging technology to improve how appeals works and manages its cases continuing the practitioner perspectives series in which tax practitioners share insights and feedback with appeals employees recording of prior panel discussions on collection appeals there's a link to that here and examination appeals there's a link to that here are available developing training for appeals employees and enhancing customer engagement quote we are excited to share appeals 2023 priorities in quote said Andy quiso chief of appeals quote we will keep doing all we can to promote a positive experience for taxpayers and practitioners while building up our past accomplishments and applying lessons we learned from the challenges posed by COVID-19 in quote a key success in 2022 is how appeals addressed a significant increase in cases referred for settlement after the taxpayer filed a petition in the United States tax court many of these cases involve taxpayers without legal representation and resulted from communication challenges and difficulties in obtaining and sharing documents during the pandemic so obviously you would think there would be a tip up tick up and this kind of stuff during the pandemic because one people's tax situations are going to change and two you had significant changes to the tax code that people that's obviously going to confuse people and even just implementing those changes in the tax code was confusing the law of course when you're doing something completely new to a system that's designed not to change that rapidly you know you can end up with issues you would think so to avoid further delays appeals prioritized these docketed cases and dedicated additional resources to properly resolve them appeals shared guidelines there's a link to that here for how employees would streamline their approach to these cases with the public in April 2022 under these guidelines appeals attempted to reach affected taxpayers by telephone shortly after receiving the cases in addition appeals considered specific dollar settlements expedited tax computation and streamlined internal documentation for proposed settlements as always appeals officers apply their professional judgment including to accept oral testimony where appropriate to settle the cases efficiently using this approach appeals resolved all 7500 docketed cases pending when the initiative began to achieve permanent improvements to the taxpayer experience the IRS is working to increase the number of cases resolved at the earliest stage possible before a dispute arises quote ensuring the taxpayers and practitioners are satisfied with the appeals process is an ongoing goal for us in quote said Shaharid Beber I had completely probably butchered that name but anyway she's the acting deputy chief of appeals quote the 2023 focus guide is a way to share with the public and with employees our ideas for continually improving how appeals resolve tax disputes end quote so there's links to that stuff here there'll be a link to this in the description