美国国税局公布800亿美元改革计划

More than 90 million people have filed tax returns so far this year, but some of us wait till the last minute.

今年到目前为止，已经有9000多万人提交了纳税申报表，但我们中的一些人直到最后一刻才提交。

And for most people, that's midnight tonight.

于大多数人而言，那是今晚午夜时分。

The IRS has automatically extended the deadline for parts of some states that have experienced natural disasters, such as California, Alabama and Tennessee.

美国国税局自动为部分经历过自然灾害的州延长了截止日期，如加利福尼亚州、阿拉巴马州和田纳西州。

Taxes come due this year as the IRS is embarking on a 10-year, $80 billion makeover to crack down on tax cheats and improve customer service.

今年税收截止之日，正值美国国税局正开始一项为期10年、耗资800亿美元的改革，以打击骗税行为、提升客户服务之时。

NPR's Scott Horsley joins us now. Happy tax day, Scott.

NPR新闻的斯科特·霍斯利将为我们带来报道。纳税日快乐，斯科特。

Good morning, Leila.

早上好，莱拉。

Good morning. So let's talk about that $80 billion. How is the IRS going to spend it, and what will that mean for taxpayers?

早上好。让我们来谈谈这800亿美元。美国国税局将如何花掉这笔钱，这对纳税人意味着什么?

Some of the money is going to go to replace outdated computer hardware.

部分资金将用于替换过时的计算机硬件。

A lot of it's going to go for new personnel so the IRS can do a better job of collecting the money the government needs to operate.

大量资金将用于招聘新员工，这样国税局就可以更好地收集政府运作所需的资金。

You know, for more than a decade, the agency has been starved of resources.

十多年来，国税局一直缺乏人力资源。

So the new IRS commissioner, Danny Werfel, plans to hire a lot more auditors and lawyers to make sure that wealthy people pay the taxes they owe.

因此，美国国税局新局长丹尼·韦费尔计划雇佣更多的审计员和律师，以确保富人缴纳他们应缴的税款。

Despite what some might think or say, these public servants within the IRS are armed only with calculators and their skills to help us address complex issues.

不管有些人怎么想或怎么说，国税局的这些公务员仅配有计算器和他们的技能来帮助我们解决复杂的问题。

Their work will give people confidence that all taxpayers, regardless of means, are being treated fairly under the tax laws.

他们的工作将让人们相信，在税法下，所有纳税人，无论手段如何，都受到公平对待。

Now, the administration says the stepped-up enforcement will focus on people making more than $400,000 a year, especially those with the most complicated returns and more avenues for cheating.

现在，美国政府表示，加大执法力度将把重点放在年收入超过40万美元的人身上，尤其是那些申报最复杂、作弊渠道更多的人。

For the average wage earner, the IRS already knows how much money you make, so the opportunities for tax evasion are pretty limited.

对于普通工薪阶层来说，美国国税局已经知道你赚了多少钱，所以逃税的机会非常有限。

The image of a bunch of public servants armed with calculators. So what's the IRS doing to improve customer service?

一群配备着计算器的公务员的形象。那么，国税局是如何提升客户服务的呢?

Customer service really suffered in recent years, especially during the depths of the pandemic.

近年来，特别是在疫情最严重的时候，客户服务确实受到了影响。

Last year, for example, 9 out of 10 phone calls to the IRS went unanswered.

以去年为例，打到美国国税局10个电话中有9个无人接听。

This year, though, the agency has hired 5,000 more people to help staff the phone lines.

不过，今年国税局又雇佣了5000多名员工在电话线工作。

Welcome to the Internal Revenue Service. To continue in English, press 1.

欢迎致电美国国税局。继续用英语服务，请按1。

Hold times have been cut from an average of 27 minutes last year to just four minutes this year.

平均等待时间从去年的27分钟减少到今年的4分钟。

And Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says the agency is now consistently answering 80- to 90% of the incoming calls.

财政部长珍妮特·耶伦表示，国税局现在不断接听打进来的80%至90%的电话。

That is a dramatic improvement compared to the previous filing season.

与之前的申报季相比，这是一个巨大的进步。

Yellen says this $80 billion investment will transform the IRS into what she calls a modern, 21st century agency.

耶伦表示，这800亿美元的投资将把美国国税局转变成她所说的21世纪现代机构。

That means more speedy online communication with taxpayers, less mailing of paper back and forth.

这意味着与纳税人的快速在线沟通增加，来回的纸质邮件沟通减少。

Of course, there are always some folks who like doing things the old-fashioned way.

当然，总有一些人喜欢用传统的方式做事。