This statement is based on our review of the administration’s fiscal year 1998 budget request, the interim results of our review of the 1997 tax return filing season, a review of IRS’ fiscal year 1997 spending plans for information systems, and our past work on Tax Systems Modernization (TSM). Given that and because IRS’ overall conversion needs are still being determined, it seems reasonable to question whether the amount requested for this effort in fiscal year 1998 will be sufficient. Funding limits faced by IRS in fiscal year 1997 and anticipated for fiscal year 1998 are projected to continue until at least 2002. Fiscal constraints as well as longstanding concerns about the operations and management of IRS make consensus on IRS performance goals and measuring progress in achieving those goals critically important. The provisions and requirements of the Chief Financial Officers Act, Clinger-Cohen Act, and Government Performance and Results Act provide a mechanism for accomplishing this. In response to its fiscal year 1997 appropriation and the congressional direction specified therein, IRS (1) revised its spending plans for information systems; (2) reallocated resources within the processing, assistance, and management account to direct more resources to taxpayer service activities; and (3) reduced the number of compliance staff. Increased Resources Provided for Taxpayer Service in 1997

Given congressional concerns about the level of taxpayer service and the low level of telephone accessibility documented in our annual filing season reports, IRS decided that its highest priority in 1997, other than processing returns and refunds, would be to improve taxpayer service, especially the ability of taxpayers to reach IRS on the phone. However, the impact of this procedure will not be evident until after the filing season. In addition to the $1.27 billion, the administration is requesting $1 billion over 2 years to fund a multi-year capital account, referred to as the Information Technology Investments Account, for new modernization projects at IRS. Our analysis of the information systems request raised several questions: (1) Should Congress approve the $131 million for developmental systems and the $1 billion capital account given the absence of the kind of supporting analyses required by the Clinger-Cohen Act, GPRA, and OMB? (2) Is the money being requested for IRS’ century date conversion effort sufficient? IRS has not yet instituted disciplined processes for designing and developing new systems and has not yet completed its systems architecture. IRS’ fiscal year 1998 budget request includes $84 million for the century date change effort, an increase of $39 million over the $45 million included for that effort in IRS’ fiscal year 1997 budget. IRS has also projected that 91 percent of the increase in primary tax returns (or 1.9 million returns) will be filed electronically. In recent years, Congress has put in place a statutory framework for addressing these challenges and helping Congress and the executive branch make the difficult trade-offs that the current budget environment demands. This framework includes as its essential elements the Chief Financial Officers Act; information technology reform legislation, including the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and the Clinger-Cohen Act; and GPRA.
Why GAO Did This Study

GAO discussed: (1) its review of the Administration's fiscal year (FY) 1998 budget request for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS); (2) the interim results of its review of the 1997 tax return filing season; (3) a review of IRS' FY 1997 spending plans for information systems; and (4) GAO's past work on Tax Systems Modernization.

What GAO Found

GAO noted that: (1) IRS' FY 1997 appropriation act and accompanying conference report indicated that Congress was concerned about, among other things, the level of taxpayer service and IRS' lack of progress in modernizing its systems; (2) in response to congressional concerns about taxpayer service, IRS added more staff this year to answer the telephone and revised its procedures for handling more complicated calls for assistance; (3) as a result, IRS answered 52 percent of taxpayers' call attempts during the first 2 months of this filing season, compared with 21 percent during the same period last year; (4) this filing season has also seen a large increase in electronic filing; (5) to respond to congressional concerns about modernization, IRS realigned its FY 1997 information system spending plans; (6) GAO's review of eight projects showed that the spending plans appeared to be consistent with congressional direction; (7) however, IRS has since cancelled projects that it had estimated would cost a total of $36 million in FY 1997, and decided not to start any new systems modernization efforts until at least the second quarter of FY 1998; (8) included in IRS' budget request for FY 1998 is $131 million for developmental information systems; (9) in addition, the administration is proposing a $1-billion capital account for information technology investments at IRS; (10) neither the $131 million nor the $1 billion is supported by the type of analysis required by the Clinger-Cohen Act, the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA), and the Office of Management and Budget; (11) IRS' budget request also includes $84 million for its turn-of-the-century date conversion effort; (12) there is reason to question the sufficiency of that amount because IRS has not yet determined its total conversion needs; (13) IRS expects the funding limits it faces in FY 1997 and anticipates for FY 1998 to continue until at least 2002; (14) fiscal constraints as well as long-standing concerns about the efficiency of IRS operations make consensus on IRS strategic goals and the measures for assessing progress against those goals critically important; (15) in recent years, Congress has put in place a statutory framework for accomplishing this; and (16) this framework includes as its essential elements the Chief Financial Officers Act, the Clinger-Cohen Act, and GPRA.