Younger taxpayers trust IRS more

Younger taxpayers are more likely to believe that the IRS fairly administers the tax code, according to new survey results from the agency’s oversight board.

{mosads}Roughly three in four people between 18 and 24 think the IRS is doing a good job enforcing the law – higher than both the population at-large (around six in 10) and taxpayers 65 and older (56 percent).

The oversight board also found that roughly nine in 10 believe it’s unfair for people to cheat on their income taxes.

The survey comes as the IRS continues to face criticism for its singling out of Tea Party groups, which the agency first acknowledged more than a year and a half ago.

“Although the IRS still has a way to go to regain the public’s trust, the survey suggests that most taxpayers, especially younger ones, trust the IRS to enforce the tax laws,” Paul Cherecwich, the oversight board’s chairman, said in a statement.

Still, taxpayers’ satisfaction with their own interactions with the IRS dropped, down to 74 percent. The oversight board chalked that up to funding drops, which they believe led to poorer service on the telephone and in walk-in offices.

John Koskinen, the IRS commissioner, has been pushing for more funding for his agency, but has found no sympathy among Republicans in the wake of the Tea Party controversy.