Udall Presses IRS to Stop Ignoring Rural Coloradans' Needs, Ensure Statewide Access to Paper Tax Forms
'IRS Needs to Ensure Coloradans ? Regardless of Where They Live ? Have Ready Access to Same Services as Those Living in Major Cities'
Citing the upcoming deadline for Coloradans' to file their income tax returns, Mark Udall urged the Internal Revenue Service today to swiftly ensure it supplies rural Coloradans with ready access to paper tax forms and other essential resources. Udall's letter to the IRS follows numerous complaints from residents in Eagle, Gunnison, Garfield and Montrose counties — and rural areas across the state — who have raised concerns that the IRS has not provided their local libraries with tax forms and instructions. Udall said the IRS must quickly address this issue and ensure Colorado's senior citizens, rural residents and those lacking Internet access have the documents they need to file their returns in a timely manner.
"Filing your income taxes is already a complicated process without the IRS failing to provide paper forms to the residents of rural Colorado," Udall said. "The IRS needs to ensure that all Coloradans — regardless of where they live — have ready access to the same services as those living in major cities."
Udall's letter notes that a failure to serve rural Colorado "runs counter" to its core mission to help all taxpayers "meet their tax responsibilities." Udall's letter said the IRS's cost-cutting steps should not come at the expense of rural Americans.
Udall, a tireless advocate for rural Coloradans, recently paved the way for an agreement between the Grand Junction Veterans Affairs Medical Center and Community Hospital to ensure Western Slope veterans did not have to travel to Denver or Salt Lake City for routine surgical procedures. Udall also has pushed the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to ease application requirements for the new Veteran Identification Cards and cut down on the number of costly trips rural veterans must make to often faraway VA facilities.
To read Udall's letter, click HERE or scroll below:
John Koskinen
Internal Revenue Service
U.S. Department of the Treasury
1111 Constitution Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20224
Dear Commissioner Koskinen,
I am writing on behalf of rural Colorado residents who have contacted my office regarding inconsistent availability of Internal Revenue Service (IRS) tax forms and instructions for 2013 to several counties across Colorado. As of this writing, merely six weeks remain until taxes are due.
Many rural Coloradans, particularly those who prepare their own returns, are senior citizens, or lack Internet access and rely on public libraries, post offices, and other civic organizations to obtain copies of IRS forms and instruction booklets. Access to broadband internet is not universal, with gaps in coverage in rural areas that inhibit or limit access to the website. While the IRS continues to pursue cost savings by encouraging taxpayers to access forms online, it should not disregard the needs of senior citizens and those without online access.
According to its mission statement, the IRS is charged with “providing top quality service by helping the taxpayer understand and meet their tax responsibilities and enforce the law with integrity and fairness to all.” I strongly believe the IRS’s inconsistent service to rural Colorado, including delays in delivery of forms and instruction manuals to public libraries, runs counter to this mission. While I will remain committed to working with public and private partners to ensure high-speed Internet access is available to all Coloradans, the IRS needs to acknowledge this reality and ensure its forms are available across rural Colorado.
The IRS should act, without delay, to ensure all Coloradans have access to 2013 federal tax forms and instructions. I appreciate your attention to this matter, and I look forward working to ensure rural taxpayers are receiving needed tax information and services.
Sincerely,