WASHINGTON — The IRS is reading taxpayers their rights — publicizing a Bill of Rights that includes the right to quality service, confidentiality, and a fair tax system.
Commissioner John Koskinen acknowledges none of the 10 rights are new. All are buried in the tax code. But the IRS will post the rights at offices and include an explanation of each when it contacts taxpayers by mail.
But there are constraints: For example, there’s a right to prompt assistance. But, Koskinen said, budget cuts have hurt the IRS’s ability to take questions. As for a just system, ‘‘we do the best we can with the code we have.’’
He said the initiative is to boost confidence in the IRS. He got the idea from Nina Olson, the national taxpayer advocate; she has sought a bill of rights since 2007.