IRS Agents Will Stop Surprise Home Visits

The IRS is putting an end to an unpopular practice: showing up unannounced at the homes of delinquent taxpayers. IRS chief Danny Werfel said Monday the agency will end the decades-long policy of sending agents out on such visits in an attempt to collect money, reports the New York Times. "This is the right thing to do and the right time to end it," said Werfel in a statement, per the Washington Post. "We have the tools we need to successfully collect revenue without adding stress with unannounced visits." In this case, not only did the taxpayers dislike the visits, but the IRS agents (who were never armed) weren't too thrilled either, for safety reasons.

The IRS had conducted tens of thousands of such visits each year since the 1950s, which helped earn them the unwanted distinction of being the "most-attacked federal law enforcement officers," per the Post. Not helping: The IRS got a boost in funding last year, which prompted GOP lawmakers in particular to accuse the agency of overreach toward ordinary citizens, both stories note. The agency is not completely eliminating home visits, per the Detroit Free Press, but they will be reserved for a relatively small number of serious cases. (More IRS stories.)