IN LETTER, COMMISSIONER WARNS OF Y2K RISKS AT IRS

"The quality of the IRS's inventory currently poses a high risk to the Y2K effort," IRS commissioner Charles Rossotti declared in a letter to House Ways and Means Committee chairman Bill Archer.

The letter was obtained by INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY.

IBD's John Berlau reports in an exclusive set for Friday editions that the agency has not conducted a complete Y2K inventory in many of its centers and offices.

And there are growing concerns over possible mistakes made at the IRS during its initial Y2K check.

Experts have "expressed concern that hardware and software missed on the IRS's inventory may cause failures that would hit taxpayers," writes Berlau.

Although the letter to Archer is dated Oct. 15, Rossotti "didn't mention the inventory problem in a major speech he gave this week to the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. He said then, 'In the area which is clearly critical to our whole economy, the tax system will continue to function, notwithstanding Y2K.'"

In the letter Rossotti admitted the IRS hasnt done a wall-to-wall-inventory of all IRS computers.

He wrote that the IRS plans to complete the inventories of major offices prior to Dec. 31 and is making progress in its contingency plans.

An IRS spokesman had no comment on the letter.

Develop

-- A different forum regular (somewhere@pollies fear to.tread), October 29, 1999

Answers

"expressed concern that hardware and software missed on the IRS's inventory may cause failures that would hit taxpayers,"

In other words, taxpayers who expect a refund might not get it, but as far as their ability to collect payments...

'In the area which is clearly critical to our whole economy, the tax system will continue to function, notwithstanding Y2K.'"

... and when he says "whole economy" he isn't talking about John Q. Public, he means the Federal Reserve.

This is about what we expect from the IRS, but it is suprising that they would let this leak out. Good information if the source is legit, but I wonder if the media will print these quotes.

I bet there are going to be an awful lot of investors who are going to hold off on paying their capital gains tax until they see what happens.

-- @ (@@@.@), October 29, 1999.

Its simple:

Computers that collect taxes = mission critical systems

Computers dispensing refunds = non-mission critical systems

Guess which ones wont get fixed in time.

-- hamster (hamster@mycage.com), October 29, 1999.

If TEITRAH, guess which taxation system may be simplified?

Guess who will be cheering?

-- Mad Monk (madmonk@hawaiian.net), October 29, 1999.