Letter to Commissioner Koskinen - For Second Year in a Row, Ayotte Calls on IRS to Provide NH Libraries with Tax Forms

Letter

Dear Commissioner Koskinen,

I am writing to express my concern that once again this year, public libraries in New Hampshire have not received the instruction booklets necessary for taxpayers to complete individual tax returns. For the second year in a row, libraries that participate in the Tax Forms Outlet Program (TFOP) received ample tax forms but no instruction booklets. I am particularly concerned because a notice on the Internal Revenue Service (IRS)'s website dated December 28, 2015 states that the IRS "will provide all products at Filing Season 2015 levels except for instructions, which we will provide at Filing Season 2014 levels."

Although the IRS indicated last year that it could not provide instruction booklets because of budget cuts, the IRS received a $290 million budget increase this year specifically to improve customer service.

The IRS's failure to provide instruction booklets places an undue burden on New Hampshire's low-income and elderly taxpayers who depend on their local libraries for their tax forms and instruction booklets. Given that almost twenty percent of Granite Staters personally file paper returns and that the tax season began on January 19th, I request that the IRS provide the necessary instruction booklets to participating libraries in New Hampshire as soon as possible.

The IRS has a responsibility to ensure that taxpayers have access to the forms necessary to complete their tax returns, and I urge the agency to take immediate action to correct this problem.

Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter.

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