Press Release: Alliance for IRS Accountability Releases New Poll — Americans Reject IRS Expansion, Demand Accountability and Reform
Survey of 1,000 U.S. Adults Finds Majority Rate IRS Customer Service Negatively, Oppose Expanded Enforcement Authority, and Want Greater Taxpayer Protections
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A new national poll commissioned by the Alliance for IRS Accountability (AIA) finds that Americans across the political spectrum are skeptical of efforts to expand IRS enforcement power and are calling for sweeping reforms to how the agency treats taxpayers.
The survey, conducted among 1,000 U.S. adults with a margin of error of ±3 percentage points at a 95% confidence level, tested public opinion on IRS customer service, unrealized gains taxation, and taxpayer rights.
Americans Give the IRS a Failing Grade on Customer Service
The poll reveals deep dissatisfaction with the IRS’s treatment of taxpayers with more than half of Americans—53%—rating IRS customer service negatively.
Critically, 78% of Americans say the IRS should be held to measurable customer service standards and performance goals, a sign that voters want accountability, not just additional resources.
“Americans are demanding that the IRS be held to a higher standard,” said AIA CEO Chuck Flint. “Pouring more money into an agency that more than half of Americans say fails them on basic service is the wrong approach.”
Majority Reject Unrealized Gains Tax and IRS Surveillance of Finances
59% of Americans say taxing unrealized gains—taxing assets that have increased in value but have not been sold—is unjustified, and these concerns become even sharper when Americans learn what implementing such a tax would require. 66% say they are alarmed by the prospect of IRS agents subjectively appraising the value of their assets each year, a necessary step for any unrealized gains tax.
Taxpayers Want an IRS That Answers for Its Actions
The poll also reveals broad support for reforms that would shift the burden of proof from taxpayers to the IRS:
66% support requiring the IRS to prove that its enforcement actions are correct, rather than forcing taxpayers to prove the IRS is wrong.
75% support requiring the IRS to pay taxpayers’ legal and accounting costs when the taxpayer wins a dispute against the agency.
“The message from the American people is clear: the IRS needs less power and more accountability,” said Flint. “Congress should listen.”
Methodology
This survey was conducted using a large-scale online panel. The sample consists of 1,000 U.S. adults aged 18 and older, fieldwork was completed within two days, and data was weighted to model U.S. public opinion by age, gender, region, and education. The margin of error is ±3 percentage points at a 95% confidence level.
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The Alliance for IRS Accountability (AIA) is dedicated to protecting taxpayers and small businesses. The IRS is broken and operates with unchecked power. This has led to abusive enforcement practices and regulatory overreach that have unfairly targeted hard-working American taxpayers and business owners. AIA is building a broad alliance that will create a fair, transparent, and law-abiding agency that is accountable to individual Americans and businesses.
MEDIA CONTACT
Chuck Flint, CEO of the Alliance for IRS Accountability