IRS Strategic Plan Provides
Framework for Sweeping Improvements

WASHINGTON - Building upon a revised mission statement and top-to-bottom organizational changes, the Internal Revenue Service is ushering in a new Strategic Plan for meeting its goal of providing top-quality service to America´s taxpayers in a fair and efficient way.

“The IRS Strategic Plan spells out what the agency must do as an organization to improve taxpayer service and meet compliance goals while shrinking in size relative to the economy,” said IRS Commissioner Charles O. Rossotti.

Using the IRS Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998 (RRA 98) as its overall guide, the strategic planning framework builds upon the IRS´s basic goal of providing America´s taxpayers top-quality service by helping them understand and meet their tax responsibilities and by applying the tax law with integrity and fairness to all.

Major areas of strategic focus in the plan include: meeting the specific needs of taxpayers; reducing taxpayer burden; broadening the use of electronic interactions with taxpayers; addressing key areas of noncompliance; adapting to a global economy; and developing a quality workforce. At a more fundamental level, the IRS will strive to make meaningful changes in the way it does business by improving its business systems, organizational structure and its balanced measures system.

Members of the IRS Oversight Board approved the Strategic Plan on January 30, 2001 and commended the IRS for linking its budget request to its long-term business objectives. This linkage provides a rationale for the dollars IRS has asked for to carry out RRA 98´s mandates.

“The most challenging aspect of the Strategic Plan is that we must continue to administer the world´s largest and most complex tax system while we re-engineer its most fundamental underpinnings,” Rossotti said. “It´s like overhauling a passenger plane while it´s in flight.”

However, when fully implemented, the plan will yield major benefits for taxpayers, tax preparers and IRS employees, he said.

“The plan breaks ground in a number of ways,” Rossotti said. “It ties together and connects for the first time IRS´s strategies, missions and goals to actual program plans.“

In a departure from prior practices, the IRS Commissioner, the Commissioners of the agency´s four Operating Divisions and the Chiefs of the organizational units will lead and manage the process and wlll be accountable for the performance and business results. This is also the first time that every IRS employee will be able to see their specific role in the modernized structure and learn how they will contribute to achieving the agency´s overall missions and goals.

The new strategic planning and budgeting process meets all GPRA (Government Performance and Results Act of 1993) requirements and is consistent with strategic planning best practices.

The Strategic Plan will be posted to the IRS Web site at www.irs.gov. Copies for the media are also available through the IRS Media Relations Office.

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