Calling St. Matthew? IRS Outsources Delinquent Debt Collection Today

The IRS is set announce today a program to use private companies to collect delinquent taxes. However, the obstacles to outsourcing are formidable--a public protest is almost certain; taxpayer advocate Nina Olson is partially but not completely satisfied with the proposed program; there are questions whether the law permits the IRS to choose the collection agencies and government unions are fighting the outsourcing. Among the issues of discontent are who trains private collection employees and whether there are sufficient protections regarding strong-arm tactics.

As in the case of many laws, the problems here appear to be the unexpected or unintended consequences of being in too much of a hurry to get some law passed to make sure that Congress "gets it right."