Two US Senators to Introduce Bill Blocking IRS Collection Program

by Patrick Lunsford, CollectionIndustry.com

We told you last week that in the case of the IRS vs. US Senate regarding outsourcing tax collection to private agencies, Democratic Senators had declared open battle with the least-loved government entity in the world.

Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND) vowed vengeance last week when the IRS began the program of farming out old past due taxes to private collectors despite the objection of the country?s legislative bodies. Dorgan said on Thursday that he would be introducing a bill that would block funding for the program for fiscal year 2007, which begins in October.

Late Friday, another Senator announced she would co-sponsor the Dorgan measure. Patty Murray (D-WA) will co-sponsor a bill that would enact a “permanent prohibition” on the IRS giving past due accounts to private collectors.

Murray and Dorgan also said that they would add an amendment to the appropriations bill that will fund the IRS for the next year. The same move was successful in the House version of the bill over the summer.