CTJ Online Letter Campaign Aims to End IRS Use of Private Collection Agencies

Citizens for Tax Justice has begun a letter campaign targeting Congress in support of legislation to end the IRS's use of private collection agencies to locate delinquent taxpayers, which began last fall. Click here to send your members of Congress a letter in support of these bills, which have been introduced by Representative Van Hollen (D-MD) in the House and Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND) in the Senate.

One problem with the program is that the private collectors receive a commission of 21 to 24 cents for each dollar they collect, while IRS employees could do the same work for just 3 cents for every dollar collected. It is also feared that the private debt collectors, driven by large profits, will have a greater incentive than IRS employees to violate the privacy rights of taxpayers in order to increase collections.