This tax season is likely to be more unpleasant than usual

A combination of several factors has IRS watchdogs warning that this year's tax season could be more difficult and drawn out than usual. This is for a few reasons: The revenue agency has undergone budget cuts in recent years in both nominal and real terms — with the result being that nearly half of calls made to the IRS this year will go unanswered. Those whose calls are picked up will be on hold for an average of more than half an hour. And refunds for many taxpayers could be significantly delayed.

While the IRS has fewer funds and staff on hand, it's dealing with an increase in the number of taxpayers and the constant growth of convuluted tax law. The tax code's complexity is billed by the IRS itself as taxpayers' "most serious problem," and the code alone stands at more than a foot tall in book form. The standard publication explaining the code, the CCH Standard Federal Tax Reporter, is by the same measure more than nine feet tall and comprises some 73,000 pages.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up