Between July and September 2002, the Department of the Treasury conducted a study where they had investigators posing as common taxpayers call the IRS Taxpayer Assistance Centers for help.
* Auditors were given correct answers 57% of the time
* 45% of the questions were answered correctly AND completely
* 12% of the questions were answered correctly, but incomplete
* Wrong answers were given 28% of the time
* 12% of the time, questions were unanswered and taxpayers were told to do their own research
* 3% of time, auditors could not get any assistance at all
It’s ridiculous that a taxpayer might not be able to count on getting a right answer from the IRS regarding tax questions, especially considering that the IRS is the agency that is charged with the task of enforcing tax laws. Ask yourself … if the IRS Taxpayer Assistance Center cannot correctly answer simple tax questions more than 57% of the time, do you think that they are going to be able to answer a question about a complicated matter such as a lien on your property … the Statue of Limitations … bankruptcy … or other complicated legal matters?