April 30,2019

Data Shows Private Debt Collection Program is Working

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley of Iowa released the following statement today regarding the release of the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) second annual Private Debt Collection report for Fiscal Year (FY) 2018.
 
“Once again, data shows that the Private Debt Collection program is working. Revenue returned to the U.S. Treasury exceeds all associated program costs – a rarity in the federal government,” Grassley said. “This latest report from the IRS gives me continued confidence in the program’s ability to continue making the system fairer for law-abiding citizens while strengthening the effectiveness of the agency.”
 
According to the report, “quality review results were excellent,” with IRS giving private collection companies a customer accuracy rating of nearly 98 percent and a professionalism score exceeding 99 percent. It also shows that taxpayers interacting with private debt collection companies also rated them highly, citing a 93-percent satisfaction ratio, which was on par with the rating taxpayers gave the IRS.
 
Early reports for FY2019 show the program continues to flourish. Highlights include:
·       The PDC program brought in $51 million in revenue after costs for FY2018;
·       The program brought in $30 million in revenue, after costs, in less than the first three months of FY2019
·       The program’s total revenue, taking start-up costs into account, is $53 million; and
·       The total amount provided to the IRS is more than $23.6 million.
 
Grassley was instrumental in creating the IRS’ bipartisan Private Debt Collection Program as chairman of the Senate Finance Committee in 2004, as well as its reinstatement in 2015 after the IRS terminated it in 2009 following a flawed review of the program.
 

The Private Debt Collection program is a public/private partnership that works to bolster the U.S. Treasury, strengthen the effectiveness of the IRS and ensure fairness in the federal tax system.