irs modernization

If you asked for an extension on last year’s taxes, the bad news is the filing deadline was yesterday. The good is if you got it in, refunds are expected to reach you faster than they have in recent years. The notoriously clunky technology behind the IRS is getting a massive update, thanks to a $60 billion cash infusion from last year’s Inflation Reduction Act. The IRS’ technology was considered cutting edge in the 1960s, but Erica Neuman, assistant professor of accounting at the University of Dayton, tells Marketplace’s Lily Jamali the IRS needs all the IT help it can get.

Earlier this month, the Internal Revenue Service unveiled an $80 billion plan to transform itself into a “digital first” tax collector focused on customer service and cracking down on wealthy tax evaders.

Today, on the day that taxes are due in the United States, Alan Rappeport, who covers economic policy for The Times, explains how the plan could result in the agency repeating a set of old mistakes.

Guest: Alan Rappeport, an economic policy correspondent for The New York Times.

Background reading: 

• I.R.S. unveiled their $80 billion plan to overhaul tax collection this month.
• Here’s how tax season felt inside the I.R.S. last year, after decades of neglect.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.