There is a current aphorism “COVID changed Everything!” That saying even goes to the IRS. Initially, in March 2020, the IRS shut down all operations: enforcement, collections, mail, phone, and print. These interruptions caused delays and backlogs in IRS’s enforcement caseloads even after operations resumed. The IRS even significantly reduced its efforts to enforce taxpayer compliance.
After the initial shut down, the IRS tried to move to telework – but most IRS operations were not set up for that. The IRS was tied to paper processing –
COVID has caused the IRS to reevaluate its operations. Even looking for ways to expand acceptance of digital signatures on electronic documents..