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LEADERSHIP AGENDA

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

DEPARTMENT PERFORMANCE

DEPARTMENT PERFORMANCE

Revenue

Courtney Kay-Decker, Director

Mission Statement:
To serve Iowans and support government services in Iowa by collecting all taxes required by law, but no more.

Serving Iowans with fast refunds
eFile success story
ePayments
Exam and Audit Costs
Collection Enterprise Costs

•  Performance Plan - How we measure our progress


•  Strategic Plan - How we plan for progress


•  Performance Report - How we report our progress


• Department Home Page - Learn more about this department

Why this is important:
Taxpayers want their individual income tax refunds fast. However, with increasing concerns about tax refund fraud, the Department has determined that slowing down the processing of refunds to allow for additional anti-fraud checks is in the best interest of taxpayers.


What we're doing about this:
The Department continues to expan anti-fraud efforts to protect individual taxpayers and State funds from criminal activity. Attempts are made to minimize the impact of those efforts on the speed of refund processing for both electronic and paper filed returns.

Why this is important:
Without being required, Iowans choose to e-file in increasing numbers every year, which speeds return processing for the taxpayer and saves state resources. Electronic returns require less than 1/5 the resources to process than paper returns.


What we're doing about this:
The Department works closely with the IRS to encourage taxpayers to file both the federal and state income tax returns electronically. The Department also works closely with tax preparers and software vendors to update forms annually and encourage availability of electronic filing options.

Iowa participates in the Free File Alliance, which provides free electronic filing to taxpayers whose incomes are less than $60,000. Links to online software are available on the Department's website.

The Department also markets electronic filing to tax practitioners and taxpayers. Each year the Department asks business and professional organizations and the media to include Iowa e-filing information when they communicate with their customers about taxes.

Why this is important:
Deposits made by electronic funds transfer are processed faster than paper transactions. Efficient deposits in the General Fund allow state government to consistently provide services to the citizens of Iowa.


What we're doing about this:
Iowa has more than 120,000 businesses collecting sales tax and more than 50,000 employers withholding income tax. Electronic payment options are also available for fuel taxes, individual income, corporation income, partnership, and fiduciary taxpayers. Some taxpayers are required to pay electronically (fuel taxes and semi-monthly filers), others choose to.

Why this is important:
Through audit programs, the Department identifies taxpayers who failed to file returns or incorrectly calculated tax liabilities on filed returns. The costs of operating those audit programs to identify non-voluntarily paid taxes should be less than the resulting revenue.


What we're doing about this:
The Department has reorganized to improve coordination between audit and collection staff. Audit programs are regularly reviewed to ensure both a positive return on investment and compliance effectiveness. The Department continues to invest in technology to improve our ability to detect non-compliance and support enforcement efforts.

Why this is important:
When taxpayers fail to pay tax liabilities to the State, the Department undertakes efforts to collect all taxes owed to the State and no more. The Department also provides collection services for the Iowa Judicial Branch, Department of Human Services, and the Department of Natural Resources.

What we're doing about this:
The Department strives to provide a consistent, fair, and professional program of collection services. The Collection Enterprise completed a major upgrade of the collection software and coordinated that effort with a business process re-engineering designed to maximize the effectiveness of the new software and to utilize nationally recognized best practices.

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