Murphy Joins Bipartisan Coalition to Address IRS Casework Backlog
Washington, D.C. – Today,Rep. Greg Murphy, M.D. (NC-03), a member of the Ways and Means Committee, signed a bipartisan letter with 190 colleagues urging the Treasury Department to reduce IRS backlog and bring relief to taxpayers.
"While the COVID-19 pandemic has strained every federal agency, the impact on the IRS has been particularly severe," wrote the group of lawmakers to Treasury Department Secretary Janet Yellen. "In many cases, the delayed processing of amended returns has been devastating to small businesses in our communities whose applications for emergency loans from the Small Business Administration have been caught in limbo nearly two years after the COVID-19 pandemic began… This has made it impossible for frustrated taxpayers to find any help. When our constituents cannot get assistance from the IRS and TAS, they contact us, and we have our hands tied at this point as well."
As of December 23, 2021, the IRS had a backlog of 6 million individual income tax returns and 2.3 million amended individual tax returns. In addition, the IRS has 2 million Employer Quarterly Tax Returns that must be processed before the nearly 500,000 amended Forms 941 can be processed.
The letter continues: "Recognizing the extraordinary challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, in addition to the IRS operating with antiquated technology and a constrained budget, we find the current situation alarming. We stand ready to support the IRS and look forward to hearing how we can help you address any obstacles facing the agency."
The letter also suggests measures the IRS could take to bring immediate relief to taxpayers entering tax filing season.
"While we recognize no single action will alleviate issues that have resulted from difficulties at the IRS spanning administrations of both political parties, these steps would provide our constituents with greater certainty as we enter this year's filing season," concluded the lawmakers.
Read the full letter HERE.
###