“We can’t do anywhere close to what the American people think we can,” revealed David Nelsen, Tax Examining Technician for the Internal Revenue Service, highlighting the inefficiencies within the agency, adding, “We have very antiquated systems. They aren’t integrated. We’re basically handcuffed.”
“There’s been no funding for decades to try to improve anything,” Nelsen said. “When funding is provided, it’s put towards little Band-Aid issues instead of the big problem of the whole,” noting that Congress has failed to allocate sufficient funding to modernize the system.
“We also have very antiquated software. We use a software called Integrated Data Retrieval System (IDRS),” Nelsen added. According to Nelsen, the inefficiencies caused by outdated technology have led to an unnecessarily large workforce and delays in tax processing: “We could probably reduce the size of the IRS substantially with changes, programs, a centralized inventory system, replacing IDRS,” explaining that a modernized system could drastically reduce the size of the IRS while improving service to taxpayers.
Nelsen claims the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act allocated very little funding for improvements, failing to fix the core issue: “It kept IDRS, but it funded small programs to make things a little more efficient in other areas, but it didn’t fix the actual problem.”
Despite potential risks, Nelsen is determined to shed light on the issues plaguing the agency.
“I’m not afraid of losing a career,” he said, adding “I’ll fall on the sword if it means I can help the American people and help everyone else at the IRS who are doing their jobs.”
The White House Press Office provided the following statement to the Citizen Journalism Foundation:
“President Trump has repeatedly called for the modernization of the federal government, which is why he established the Department of Government Efficiency. DOGE is working quickly to update federal technology and software to maximize governmental efficiency and productivity.”
