IT Problems at IRS and Medicare: More to Come?


 

Publication Date: October 2006

Publisher: Tax Policy Center

Author(s): C. Eugene Steuerle

Research Area: Economics

Keywords: Fiscal future; Taxes and Social Programs; Taxes, the Budget, and the Economy; General Tax Policy

Type: Report

Abstract:

Already in 2006 alone, the IRS has potentially lost billions of dollars in revenue by failing to come up with a computer program that would replace one that identified returns likely to be fraudulently filed, while Medicare and Social Security have mistakenly sent refunds to 230,000 people who signed up for a prescription drug plan under the new Part D of Medicare. It is likely that these stories are symptoms of a much more serious government problem in hiring and retaining top-notch people who keep up with new technology, its uses, and its limitations.