“ products and services.

• Charles Rettig, Commissioner

This strategy will

guide the direction, mission

alignment, investments, and

accountability of the IRS community

Earlier this year, the IRS began rolling out a new agency-wide Multilingual Improvement Strategy. As part of this effort, we charged our Language Services Executive Advisory Committee with expanding available platforms and increasing available languages across multiple channels, including digital tools, telephone assistance, tax forms and publications, written correspondence and outreach and education. While the strategy will continue to evolve and improve, most of these capabilities will be delivered by the end of FY2022. In addition, the IRS expanded outreach efforts to these groups as part of the Economic Impact Payment public awareness campaign. More than 250 new partnerships were created with non-traditional tax groups, including dozens in the LEP community.

in providing meaningful access

for multilingual taxpayers to IRS

products and services.

27 2018 American Community Survey, Census Bureau.

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4.0 | TAXPAYER EXPERIENCE STRATEGY

4.7 FOCUSED STRATEGIES FOR REACHING UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES

International Strategy Non-resident individuals and businesses with a connection to the United States have unique tax considerations and may have difficulty accessing IRS services. They tend to rely on IRS.gov as their main resource for information on U.S. filing requirements, taxable income, tax treaties, payments, etc. Yet, because they often lack U.S. financial accounts or have foreign addresses and international telephone numbers, these taxpayers are frequently unable to access online IRS services due to current identity proofing and authentication standards. Also, as of tax year 2017, only 48.4% of international individual taxpayers filed electronically, ²⁸ compared to 88.3% of domestic individual taxpayers. As a result, there is a tremendous opportunity to increase international taxpayer use of the IRS eFile program.

Additionally, a key part of the International Strategy is improving communications to accommodate language preferences and challenges. IRS systems will be improved to allow for taxpayers to indicate their primary language and expand service channels to provide virtual options.

The key attributes of our International Strategy are—

• International Online Account Authentication: Expand online account authentication to

international taxpayers to provide access to additional self-service channels including the expanded digital tools and seamless experience described above.

• Focused Promotion of IRS eFile: Continue promoting IRS eFile to increase electronic filing,

expedite the filing process and reduce errors, ultimately improving the taxpayer experience for international taxpayers.

• Virtual Face-to-Face: Provide the ability for taxpayers to have a scheduled video chat with

an IRS employee, using computer, tablet or mobile phone.

• Virtual Discussion Forums: Facilitate a new virtual discussion forum where taxpayers can initiate discussions around filing requirements, rules, procedures, and other topics. The forums will provide a moderated outlet for asking questions and sharing answers. International taxpayers will also have the ability to be a part of virtual one-on-one or group conference via the forums.

Our Multilingual and International Strategies are two examples of a broader IRS effort to integrate and coordinate activities focused on underserved communities. Working with these partners and conducting additional research will help us better understand the unique needs of these segments. With these strategies, we hope to transform underserved communities into well-served communities.

28 Wage and Investment, Research and Analysis Division Research Study Report: Understanding the International Taxpayer Experience: Service Awareness, Use, Preferences and Filing Behaviors, February 2010.

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FOCUSED STRATEGIES FOR REACHING UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES

The following page outlines the goals, objectives, taxpayer benefits, timeline, costs and measures associated with Focused Strategies for Reaching Underserved Communities

GOALS VALUE FOR THE TAXPAYER

Understand, Inform and Educate Taxpayers; Provide a Seamless Taxpayer Experience

OBJECTIVES

Provide Clear and Timely Communications

Understand Taxpayer Needs

Build Trusting Relationships and Partnerships

Increase Access and Promote Transparency

Tailored outreach, education, communications, products and services

Communication in preferred language through preferred communication channels

Understanding of tax obligations and easier access to the tools that lead to compliance

Awareness of the different ways to engage the IRS for assistance when necessary

Greater trust in the Federal Government

Increased emphasis on the fairness of the tax system

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Focused Strategies for Reaching Underserved Communities Timeline and Measures

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Focused Strategies for Reaching Underserved Communities Timeline and Measures

29 Baselines are as of the beginning of FY2019 unless otherwise noted.

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4.0 | TAXPAYER EXPERIENCE STRATEGY

4.8 ENTERPRISE DATA MANAGEMENT AND ADVANCED DATA ANALYTICS

We can make better use of data, a core business asset, to drive compliance decisions and improve the taxpayer experience in all the ways described throughout this strategy. To get there, the IRS needs a data management strategy that uses agency-wide operating data; other federal, state, and publicly available data; secure information sharing with IRS partners; and an understanding of taxpayers’ experiences, emerging needs and expectations. Taxpayer account and service usage data will inform how to improve existing services and develop new digital tools. Similarly, analytics will drive better enforcement issue identification and case selection.

The following key capabilities will allow the IRS to manage data efficiently for taxpayer service and enforcement—

collected from taxpayers, IRS employees, survey data or from automated tools and reports. Build on our ability to use information and feedback by providing real-time access for quick analysis to improve services for taxpayers.

governance to inform decision making and improve operational outcomes across the enterprise. To make this happen, the IRS will iteratively expand its data environment, to include making data more readily accessible through transition from paper to digital environment, allowing analysts to solve data-driven problems faster. This comprehensive data repository will be built on fundamental data collection principles of gathering, defining, perfecting, and storing information. This will inform better compliance enforcement decisions, which will in turn reduce the burden on compliant taxpayers and direct IRS enforcement resources more strategically.

identify and separate taxpayers who are trying to comply from those who are intentionally violating our tax laws, minimizing compliance contacts where direct enforcement activity would not be necessary. This will also help us avoid placing compliant taxpayers into compliance treatments while enhancing detection of non-compliant taxpayers so we can respond appropriately to encourage compliant behavior.

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4.0 | TAXPAYER EXPERIENCE STRATEGY

4.8 ENTERPRISE DATA MANAGEMENT AND ADVANCED DATA ANALYTICS

• Data Sharing Opportunities: Implement secure and authorized information sharing with

federal and state agencies, Security Summit participants, and other third parties, within the boundaries established by law - by creating new software applications using Application Programming Interfaces where feasible. This will allow us to incorporate new sources of information to drive enforcement decisions, combat identity theft and improve the taxpayer experience. Adherence to 26 U.S.C. Section 6103 is critical to ensure taxpayer return data is adequately protected.

Implementing enterprise data management will bring many benefits. A robust collection of IRS taxpayer data sources, including customer account, customer service, and third-party data will help the IRS better identify underserved communities, design focused digital tools and strategies, and offer opportunities for the IRS to launch proactive alerts, resulting in avoidance of unintended tax issues. For example, feedback loops will be significantly improved with the ability to monitor information agency-wide. Expanded feedback loops may also help identify areas for proactive outreach and education and opportunities to partner with federal and state agencies to address non-compliance. Strong security protocols and continuous monitoring of programs will protect taxpayer information from unauthorized access and safeguard IRS systems against cyberattacks.

The IRS has already started this effort, and our strategy will be based on that foundation. Building this data management system will take time and significant financial investment. In order to benefit from this vast set of data and information, the IRS needs to strengthen its ability to collect and integrate large, diverse datasets from which decisions and discoveries are based, ensure we are capturing and utilizing the most complete and accurate taxpayer information, and expanding governing relationships through better sharing of data assets. Through an appropriate governance process, the IRS will take a prudent and disciplined approach to identifying and sequencing the most essential data assets to be added to the data repository. The IRS will be able to use comprehensive data to improve existing analytic methods, expand analytical collaboration, and drive greater digital enhancements for tax administration.

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ENTERPRISE DATA MANAGEMENT AND ADVANCED ANALYTICS

The following page outlines the goals, objectives, taxpayer benefits, timeline, costs and measures associated with Enterprise Data Management and Advanced Analytics

GOALS

Understand, Inform and Educate Taxpayers; Provide a Seamless Taxpayer Experience; Equip, Enable and Empower the Workforce

OBJECTIVES

Provide Clear and Timely Communication�

Understand Taxpayer Needs

Increase Access and Promote Transparency

Simplify the Tax Process

Equip Employees with the Tools Necessary to Provide Excellent Taxpayer Service

Increase Employee Knowledge and Expertise

Empower Employees to Solve Taxpayer Issues

VALUE FOR THE TAXPAYER

Expanded access to services, both assisted and self-digital

Increased quality of interactions, both assisted and self-digital

Better use of artificial intelligence and data analytics, delivering greater accuracy in identifying potential compliance risks

Quicker resolution and more transparent customer service for taxpayers

Launch of customized proactive alerts resulting in avoidance of unintended tax issues

Improved taxpayer service based on realtime evaluation of information via feedback loop from taxpayers, IRS employees and automated tools

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Enterprise Data Management and Advanced Analytics Timeline and Measures

30 Baselines are as of the beginning FY2019 unless otherwise noted.

31 Source: Compliance Data Warehouse.

32 Source: Compliance Data Warehouse.

33 Source: Compliance Data Warehouse.

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5.0 | TRAINING STRATEGY

S E C T I O N