Washington, D.C.-The Internal Revenue Service has decided not to renew its contracts with two private debt collection agencies.The IRS said that the decision came after an extensive review of the controversial program. A provision to end the private debt collection program was inserted into the omnibus spending bill that is currently before the Senate.
The IRS said that it has determined that the work is best done by IRS employees who have more flexibility handling cases, particularly for taxpayers facing economic hardship.
IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman noted that the IRS anticipates hiring over 1,000 new collection personnel in fiscal year 2009.
