CS-09-157-Oversight Board Taxpayer Attitude; CS-09-159-External Stakeholder Survey; CS-09-162-Taxpayer Advocate Service

Attachment

2009 IRS Oversight Board

Compliance Study Questionnaire

Intro:

Hello, I'm from GfK. We are a national opinion research firm and we are not selling anything. We are only interested in your opinions. May I please speak with the... (OLDEST/YOUNGEST MALE/FEMALE 18 YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER)

We are conducting a national survey about a variety of topics and would like to ask you a few brief questions. (READ IF NECESSARY) Let me assure you that we’re not selling anything. This voluntary survey should take about 16 minutes to complete.

(Do Not Read) Record gender by observation:

______ Male

______ Female

The following questions pertain to filing federal income taxes:

1. How much, if any, do you think is an acceptable amount to cheat on your income taxes? Would you say. . . (READ LIST. CHECK ONLY ONE RESPONSE.)

A little here and there 1

As much as possible 2

Or, Not at all 3

(DO NOT READ) Don’t know/not sure dk

2. I’m going to read you some statements. For each one, please tell me whether you completely agree, mostly agree, mostly disagree, or completely disagree. How about. . . (READ LIST. ROTATE. CHECK ONLY ONE RESPONSE FOR EACH.)

COMPLETELY MOSTLY MOSTLY COMPLETELY

AGREE AGREE DISAGREE DISAGREE

It is every American’s civic duty

to pay their fair share of taxes 1 2 3 4

Everyone who cheats on their

taxes should be held accountable 1 2 3 4

It is everyone’s personal

responsibility to report anyone

who cheats on their taxes 1 2 3 4

Taxpayers should just have to

pay what they feel is a fair amount 1 2 3 4

The more information and guidance

the IRS provides, the more likely

people are to correctly file their

tax returns. 1 2 3 4

3. How important is it to you, as a taxpayer, that the IRS does each of the following to ensure that all taxpayers honestly pay what they owe? Would you say it is very important, somewhat important, not very important, or not at all important? Let’s start with. . . (READ LIST. ROTATE. CHECK ONLY ONE RESPONSE FOR EACH.)

VERY SOMEWHAT NOT VERY NOT AT ALL

IMPORTANT IMPORTANT IMPORTANT IMPORTANT

Ensures low income taxpayers are reporting

and paying their taxes honestly 1 2 3 4

Ensures small businesses are reporting and

paying their taxes honestly 1 2 3 4

Ensures high income taxpayers are reporting

and paying their taxes honestly 1 2 3 4

Ensures corporations are reporting

and paying their taxes honestly 1 2 3 4

4. How much influence does each of the following factors have on whether you report and pay your taxes honestly? Would you say it has a great deal of influence, somewhat of an influence, very little influence, or is not at all an influence. How about. . . (READ LIST. ROTATE. CHECK ONLY ONE RESPONSE FOR EACH.)

A GREAT DEAL SOMEWHAT OF VERY LITTLE IS NOT AT ALL

OF INFLUENCE AN INFLUENCE INFLUENCE AN INFLUENCE

Fear of an audit 1 2 3 4

Belief that your neighbors

are reporting and paying

honestly 1 2 3 4

Third parties reporting your

income (e.g., wages, interest,

dividends) to the IRS 1 2 3 4

Your personal integrity 1 2 3 4

5. How important is it to you, as a taxpayer, that the IRS provides each of the following services to assist taxpayers. Would you say it is very important, somewhat important, not very important, or not at all important? How about. . . (READ LIST. ROTATE. CHECK ONLY ONE RESPONSE FOR EACH.)

VERY SOMEWHAT NOT VERY NOT AT ALL

IMPORTANT IMPORTANT IMPORTANT IMPORTANT

A toll-free telephone number

to answer your questions 1 2 3 4

Office locations you can visit

where an IRS representative

will answer your questions 1 2 3 4

A web site to provide you with

information 1 2 3 4

The ability to email your

questions directly to the IRS 1 2 3 4

Opportunities for electronic

filing of tax returns 1 2 3 4

A computer terminal located in

a kiosk at a library or

shopping mall 1 2 3 4

A tax assistance van that

visits locations not convenient

to IRS offices to provide

information and assistance 1 2 3 4

Community-based tax clinics at

convenient locations, such as

schools, community centers,

libraries, etc. 1 2 3 4

6. How likely would you be to use each of the following services for help with a tax issue. Would you be very likely, somewhat likely, not very likely, or not at all likely? How about. . . (READ LIST. ROTATE. CHECK ONLY ONE RESPONSE FOR EACH.)

VERY SOMEWHAT NOT VERY NOT AT ALL

LIKELY LIKELY LIKELY LIKELY

A toll-free telephone number to

answer your questions 1 2 3 4

Office locations you can visit

within 30 minutes travel time

where an IRS representative

will answer your questions 1 2 3 4

Office locations you can visit

within 30 to 60 minutes travel

time where an IRS representative

will answer your questions 1 2 3 4

A web site to provide you with

information 1 2 3 4

The ability to email your questions

directly to the IRS 1 2 3 4

A computer terminal located in a

kiosk at a library or shopping

mall 1 2 3 4

A tax assistance van that visits

locations not convenient to

IRS offices to provide

information and assistance 1 2 3 4

Community-based tax clinics at

convenient locations, such as

schools, community centers,

libraries, etc. 1 2 3 4

IF ANSWERED “VERY” OR “SOMEWHAT LIKELY” TO USE TOLL-FREE NUMBER

IN Q.6 (Q6.1 (1,2)) ASK Q. 7. OTHERS SKIP TO INSTRUCTION BEFORE Q. 8.

7. You said you would be likely to use a toll-free telephone number to contact the IRS. How long are you willing to wait to speak to a customer representative when calling an IRS toll-free telephone number? [RECORD VERBATIM ANSWER NEXT TO APPROPRIATE SCALE. MUST BE A NUMERICAL ANSWER.]

_____________ seconds _____________ minutes

IF ANSWERED “VERY” OR “SOMEWHAT LIKELY” TO USE OFFICE LOCATIONS IN Q.6 (Q6.2 or Q6.3 (1,2))

ASK Q. 8. OTHERS SKIP TO Q. 9.

8. You said you would be likely to use office locations where an IRS representative will answer your questions. Would you prefer to schedule an appointment to speak with a representative at a specific time or would you prefer to walk in at your convenience and wait for the next available representative? (DO NOT READ LIST. CHECK ONLY ONE RESPONSE.)

Prefer to schedule appointment 1 (SKIP TO Q. 9)

Prefer to walk in 2 (CONTINUE)

Don’t Know dk (SKIP TO Q. 9)

8a. How long are you willing to wait to speak to a customer representative if you visited an IRS walk-in assistance center without an appointment? [RECORD VERBATIM ANSWER NEXT TO APPROPRIATE SCALE. MUST BE A NUMERICAL ANSWER.]

_____________ minutes _____________ hours

9. How valuable would you say each of these sources is for getting tax advice or information. Would you say it is very valuable, somewhat valuable, not very valuable, or not at all valuable? How about. . . (READ LIST. ROTATE. CHECK ONLY ONE RESPONSE FOR EACH.)

VERY SOMEWHAT NOT VERY NOT AT ALL

VALUABLE VALUABLE VALUABLE VALUABLE

IRS representatives 1 2 3 4

IRS printed publications,

for example, brochures,

instructions 1 2 3 4

IRS website 1 2 3 4

Paid tax professional 1 2 3 4

Family or friends 1 2 3 4

Reference materials from sources

other than the IRS (for example,

books, software, private sector

websites) 1 2 3 4

10. Most people have had some type of interaction with the IRS, whether it’s just filing your tax return or actually speaking with an IRS representative. How satisfied would you say you have been with your personal interaction with the IRS? Would you say very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, not very satisfied, or not at all satisfied? (DO NOT READ LIST. CHECK ONLY ONE RESPONSE.)

Very satisfied 1

Somewhat satisfied 2

Not very satisfied 3

Not at all satisfied 4

10a. Considering the resources the IRS receives to do its job, which of the following statements do you most agree with (choose only one):

IRS devotes too much of its resources to customer service programs and not enough to its enforcement activities

IRS devotes too much of its resources to enforcement activities and not enough to its customer service programs

IRS maintains a proper balance between its enforcement activities and its customer service programs 

11. I’m going to read you some statements about the funding the IRS receives. For each one, please tell me whether you completely agree, mostly agree, mostly disagree, or completely disagree. How about. . . (READ EACH. ROTATE. CHECK ONLY ONE RESPONSE FOR EACH.)

COMPLETELY MOSTLY MOSTLY COMPLETELY DON’T CARE

AGREE AGREE DISAGREE DISAGREE DK/NA

The IRS should receive extra funding

to enforce tax laws and ensure

taxpayers pay what they owe. 1 2 3 4 5

The IRS should receive extra funding

so it can assist more taxpayers

over the phone and in person. 1 2 3 4 5

12. Federal tax laws are enacted once they are passed by the United States Congress and signed by the President.  Once enacted, the Internal Revenue Service is expected to administer those laws with integrity and fairness to all. For each of the following two statements, please tell me whether you completely agree, mostly agree, mostly disagree, or completely disagree:

1. The IRS administers the federal tax laws in a fair manner?

2. The IRS administers the federal tax laws with integrity?

13. Currently, not all paid preparers of federal tax returns are subject to regulation, either for competency or ethical behavior.

1. How important is it to you that tax preparers be required to meet standards of competency in order to enter the tax preparation business? (very important, somewhat important, not very important, not at all important)

2. How important is it to you that tax preparers be required to meet standards of ethical behavior in order to enter the tax preparation business? (very important, somewhat important, not very important, not at all important)

14. If you were to choose a paid preparer to prepare your federal tax return, how much influence would each of the following factors have:  (great deal of influence, somewhat of an influence, very little influence, or not at all an influence)

1. The preparer is subject to regulation or licensing by a government entity, either federal or state.

2. The preparer is subject to regulation or licensing by an industry association

15. Did you use a paid tax return preparer to prepare your most recent Federal income tax return?

The following statement pertains only to the questions you answered on filing federal income taxes:

READ TO ALL, INCLUDING TERMINATES AND REFUSALS

Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) Statement: (This statement should be included on every collection instrument and voiced during every interview)

The Paperwork Reduction Act requires that the IRS display an OMB control number on all public information requests. The OMB Control Number for this study is 1545-1432. Also, if you have any comments regarding the time estimates associated with this study or suggestions on making this process simpler, please write to the: 

                        IRS Tax Products Coordinating Committee

                        SE:W:CAR:MP:T:T:SP

1111 Constitution Ave. NW

Washington, DC  20224.

Demos: The following questions are just for statistical purposes only and will be combined with those of all other survey respondents. Your individual data will not be shared with anyone outside of GfK .

ASK EVERYONE

Now, for classification purposes only, would you please tell me...

1. Do you own or rent your home?

Own 1

Rent 2

2. Are you...? (READ LIST)

Single, never married 1

Married 2

Or, separated, widowed, or divorced 3

3. Are you, yourself, currently employed… (READ LIST)

Full-Time 1

Part-Time 2

Not Employed 3

4. Including yourself, how many people are there living in your household?

Total 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8+

A. How Many Of These Are Adults, 18 Or Older 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8+

B. How Many Are Children 12 To 17? 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8+

C. How Many Are Children 6 To 11? 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8+

D. How Many Are Children Under 6? 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8+

5. What is your age? (DO NOT READ LIST.)

18-20 1

21-24 2

25-29 3

30-34 4

35-39 5

40-44 6

45-49 7

50-54 8

55-59 9

60-64 10

65-69 11

70-74 12

75 And Over 13

Refused ref

6. What is the last grade of school you completed? (DO NOT READ LIST)

Less than high school graduate 1

High school graduate 2

Some college 3

Graduated college 4

Post graduate school 5

Other 6

7. We try to classify people into broad income groups. To do this, would you please tell me which of the following categories most closely represents your annual household income? (READ LIST)

Under $15,000 1

$15,000-less than $20,000 2

$20,000-less than $25,000 3

$25,000-less than $30,000 4

$30,000-less than $40,000 5

$40,000-less than $50,000 6

$50,000-less than $75,000 7

$75,000-less than $100,000 8

$100,000-less than $125,000 9

$125,000-less than $150,000 10

$150,000 and over 11

(DO NOT READ) Don't know/Refused dk

NOTE to OMB: As indicated for prior years’ surveys, the race/ethnicity question deviates slightly from the guidelines; however, OMB has approved prior packages with this minor deviation. The reason for the deviation is that the guidance seems to say that the preferred language should be used to the extent feasible, which implies that there could be exceptions. We are participating in the vendor’s canned survey instrument, which has no flexibility for changing wording. If we have to do a custom survey instrument, the cost will likely be significantly higher and will take longer. It will save the government time and money to use the canned survey instrument. Additionally, the survey is conducted only in the contiguous US. It doesn’t include Alaska or Hawaii, which is why the vendor doesn’t include this demographic in its survey. The number for this demographic and for Native American is so small that they cover it in “other.”

8a. Are you of Hispanic or Latino origin or descent?

Yes 1

No 2

(DO NOT READ) Don’t know dk

8b. Which of the following best describes your race? Are you... (READ LIST)

White 1

Black 2

Asian 3

Other 4

(DO NOT READ) Refused ref

Those are all of the questions I have for you.  Thank you for participating in our survey today.

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