VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) – Congresswoman Elaine Luria announced on Wednesday that she has sent a letter to IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig strongly recommending he continue processing annual tax returns as well as the COVID-19 relief checks.
In a statement released by the congresswoman, she states that some individuals have been waiting for more than a month for their refunds even though the IRS website claims that it has issued 90% of refunds in less than three weeks.
“During this public health and economic emergency, I am working to ensure that the federal government works for Coastal Virginians — and it became clear that many were waiting long periods of time for their refunds on their 2019 taxes without any answers as to when they would receive their money,” said Luria.
“In the best of times, these delays would create hardships for taxpayers, but during this economic crisis, these delays are especially challenging. The IRS must take all actions necessary to quickly process all outstanding refunds and equip IRS employees with the resources they need.”
In the letter, Luria — who is is leading the effort on this issue — recommends the following to Rettig:
- Evaluate current information technology (IT) infrastructure and identify what improvements are needed to enable workers to accomplish more remotely;
- Identify internal policies hindering the ability of employees to work remotely, and provide immediate flexibility;
- Make it easier for taxpayers to contact the IRS by telephone or online;
- Work with public health experts to determine how the IRS can rapidly and safely resume in-person operations for tasks that cannot be done remotely; and
- If necessary, request emergency funding from Congress to make these improvements as quickly as possible.
The full letter can be found here.