IRS says tax collection is more efficient, and receipts are up 5% over last year

The Treasury Department wants to make the IRS more efficient under the Trump administration.

And IRS data shared with FOX Business indicates total tax receipts for this tax filing season have increased 5% from last year. Additionally, the total number of tax returns processed is up 1.5%.

“We are making Treasury efficient again. This isn’t just words on paper. The data backs the great work that we’re doing to make sure that the IRS works for the American people, not against them,” Deputy Treasury Secretary and acting IRS Commissioner Michael Faulkender told FOX Business.

“Our next goal will be to usher President Trump’s tax agenda across the finish line with the unified help of both House and Senate Republicans so we can continue to put more money back into the pockets of hardworking Americans,” he added.

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IRS data provided to FOX Business shows tax receipts are up compared to last year. (Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images / Getty Images)

Since Trump’s inauguration, the IRS’ information technology (IT) budget has been cut by $2 billion without operational disruptions, according to the Treasury Department. 

It noted this was achieved through the elimination of wasteful contracts, such as licenses set to auto-renewal but unused.

The IRS is also remaking the leadership of its technical teams by removing staffers without technical expertise and replacing them with engineers. The administration noted that fewer than one in five staffers working on the IRS’ IT programs were qualified engineers, whereas the industry standard would typically be 100%.

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The IRS is undergoing an overhaul under the Trump administration. (Reuters/Kent Nishimura/File Photo / Reuters Photos)

With a greater emphasis on hiring qualified engineers and putting them in charge of IT projects, the IRS is continuing its work to build a unified application programming interface (API) layer, a project that began over 20 years ago and has cost $4 billion, according to the agency. 

The IRS has 12 different APIs that are fragmented and make it difficult for engineers to upgrade IT systems.

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Creating the unified API layer will simplify communication between different apps and data sets, which the IRS says will result in a more seamless interface for taxpayers and internal teams while also making the development process for future products and services more efficient.