NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.
This report has been reviewed by a group other than the authors according to procedures approved by a Report Review Committee consisting of members of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine.
The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Bruce Alberts is president of the National Academy of Sciences.
The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. Harold Liebowitz is president of the National Academy of Engineering.
The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Kenneth I.Shine is president of the Institute of Medicine.
The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy’s purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Bruce Alberts and Dr. Harold Liebowitz are chairman and vice chairman, respectively, of the National Research Council.
Support for this project was provided under contract number TIR-93-0070. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of the Treasury or the Internal Revenue Service.
Copyright 1996 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
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COMMITTEE ON CONTINUED REVIEW OF THE TAX SYSTEMS MODERNIZATION OF THE INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE
ROGER BATE,
Software Engineering Institute, Carnegie Mellon University
BARRY BOZEMAN,*
Georgia Institute of Technology
CHARLES A.CARLSON,*
Sears Technology Services (retired)
LYNN W.ELLIS,
University of New Haven (retired)
PETER A.FREEMAN,*
Georgia Institute of Technology
CINDA A.HALLMAN,*
E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company
JORDAN HAYES,
Heuristicrats Research Inc.
RUSSELL E.HOGG,*
Hogg International Associates Inc.
C.A.IRVINE,
Eclectic Solutions Corporation
JEROME KURTZ,*
New York University
GEORGE T.LIGLER,*
GTL Associates
NOEL MATCHETT,
Information Security Incorporated
GEORGE B.TRUBOW,
The John Marshall Law School
Staff
MARJORY S.BLUMENTHAL, Director
FRANK PITTELLI, CSTB Consultant
LESLIE M.WADE, Research Assistant
COMPUTER SCIENCE AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS BOARD
WILLIAM A.WULF,
University of Virginia,
Chair
FRANCES ALLEN,
IBM T.J. Watson Research Center
DAVID D.CLARK,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
JEFF DOZIER,
University of California at Santa Barbara
HENRY FUCHS,
University of North Carolina
CHARLES M.GESCHKE,
Adobe Systems Inc.
JAMES N.GRAY,
Microsoft Corporation
BARBARA J.GROSZ,
Harvard University
JURIS HARTMANIS,
Cornell University
DEBORAH A.JOSEPH,
University of Wisconsin
BUTLER W.LAMPSON,
Microsoft Corporation
BARBARA H.LISKOV,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
JOHN MAJOR,
Motorola Inc.
ROBERT L.MARTIN,
AT&T Network Systems
DAVID G.MESSERSCHMITT,
University of California at Berkeley
WILLIAM H.PRESS,
Harvard University
CHARLES L.SEITZ,
Myricom Inc.
EDWARD SHORTLIFFE,
Stanford University School of Medicine
CASMIR S.SKRZYPCZAK,
NYNEX Corporation
LESLIE L.VADASZ,
Intel Corporation
MARJORY S.BLUMENTHAL, Director
HERBERT S.LIN, Senior Staff Officer
JERRY SHEEHAN, Staff Officer
JOHN M.GODFREY, Research Associate
JEAN E.SMITH, Program Associate
LESLIE M.WADE, Research Assistant
GLORIA P.BEMAH, Administrative Assistant
GAIL E.PRITCHARD, Project Assistant
COMMISSION ON PHYSICAL SCIENCES, MATHEMATICS, AND APPLICATIONS
ROBERT J.HERMANN,
United Technologies Corporation,
Chair
STEPHEN L.ADLER,
Institute for Advanced Study
PETER M.BANKS,
Environmental Research Institute of Michigan
SYLVIA T.CEYER,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
L.LOUIS HEGEDUS,
W.R. Grace and Company
JOHN E.HOPCROFT,
Cornell University
RHONDA J.HUGHES,
Bryn Mawr College
SHIRLEY A.JACKSON,
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
KENNETH I.KELLERMANN,
National Radio Astronomy Observatory
KEN KENNEDY,
Rice University
THOMAS A.PRINCE,
California Institute of Technology
JEROME SACKS,
National Institute of Statistical Sciences
L.E.SCRIVEN,
University of Minnesota
LEON T.SILVER,
California Institute of Technology
CHARLES P.SLICHTER,
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
ALVIN W.TRIVELPIECE,
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
SHMUEL WINOGRAD,
IBM T.J. Watson Research Center
CHARLES A.ZRAKET,
MITRE Corporation (retired)
NORMAN METZGER, Executive Director
Preface
This is the sixth and final report of the Computer Science and Telecommunications Board (CSTB) of the National Research Council (NRC) on its review of the Tax Systems Modernization (TSM) program of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). This reviews follows one begun in 1990, which culminated in a final report issued in 1992.1
In 1993 the IRS asked the NRC to continue reviewing the TSM program, focusing more on development and transition issues. A second committee was formed, including a number of members from the original committee and with more emphasis on technical (as compared to management) expertise. The committee met every 2 to 3 months, and various subcommittees focusing on specific issues made field trips to service centers, district offices, and development locations where IRS personnel were interviewed (Appendix B). In addition, IRS briefings and documents (Appendix A) were provided at committee meetings. An interim report was issued in 1994.2
Input to the current report from the IRS was completed in September 1995. The committee’s draft report was sent out for anonymous peer review on September 11, 1995, and the revised draft was submitted to the NRC’s Report Review Committee on November 9, 1995. In late November, I learned that TSM plans had been revised and reduced due to further budget cuts; further review of the plans currently is under way. This report does not reflect changes made after September 1, although acknowledgment of some developments, where communicated to the committee, is made. Both the dynamic nature of conditions at the IRS and the limited opportunity for the committee as a whole to deliberate necessitated a finite period of review. Inevitably something on which the committee has deliberated will have changed before the report is released. However, 5 years of experience have shown that, in general, such late-breaking developments do not alter the fundamental findings, conclusions, or recommendations of this committee.
It should be noted here that Congress has just required that certain aspects of tax collection be delegated to external entities. This unusual step raises broader questions
about competition in the conduct of tax collection activities. The subject of competition for government agencies is not a new topic, but it is outside the purview of the committee. We have in past reports emphasized concerns that key managers of TSM should have the necessary responsibility and authority, as would be the case for comparable managers in the private sector.
The committee wishes to thank Commissioner Margaret Milner Richardson and the IRS staff at all locations for their cooperation in providing briefings and documents during this review. It is not easy for a federal agency to bring in outside, unpaid reviewers; cooperate in responding to requests for briefings, documents, and employee interviews; and ask for critical reports that they know will become part of the public record. We very much commend the IRS for doing all of these and sincerely hope that the series of meetings and reports will prove constructive and helpful. We hope very much that TSM will succeed.
My personal thanks go, as well, to the members of the committee and especially to those who have served throughout the 5 years of the original and current contracts. They have all given freely of their time in an effort to offer their best advice. It has been a distinct pleasure and rewarding experience to be associated with them.
We are all grateful to the support of the CSTB staff and wish particularly to recognize and thank Marjory Blumenthal, director; Frank Pittelli, consultant; and Leslie Wade, research assistant.
Robert P.Clagett, Chair
Committee on Continued Review of the Tax Systems Modernization of the Internal Revenue Service