25-06 IRS _TAS -A Wholistic Evaluation of Administer (1).docx

Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS) “A Wholistic Evaluation of Administering Social Benefits Through the Tax Code” Request For Information (RFI) December 26, 2024

Administering Social Benefits Through the Tax Code RFI | ii Introduction This is a Request for Information (RFI) -- hereinafter Notice. This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, request for bids or quotations, nor a promise to issue a solicitation in the future. The purpose of this RFI is for the Government to obtain knowledge and information for project planning purposes only.

No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in responses to this Notice, unless otherwise appropriately marked by the Respondent. The Government reserves the right to use any non-proprietary technical information received in response to this Notice in any resultant solicitation(s). Do Not Submit any Proposals / Offers / Quotes in response to this Notice.

At a summary level, the Government has interest in and is seeking information regarding the capability of firms who can provide services pertaining to how the Respondent would design and implement a joint research project with the Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS) of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) on administering social benefits through the tax system. The project would take a wholistic approach by evaluating the economic implications and administrability of various administrative and legislative proposals and is meant to inform stakeholders as they consider administering social benefits through the tax code.

Request for Information Number: 25-06-A-PMO Project Title / Short Description: A Wholistic Evaluation of Administering Social Benefits Through the Tax Code PSC or FSC Code: R408 Support - Professional: Program Management/ Support NAICS Codes: 541213 – Tax Preparation Services Release Date: December 26, 2024 Response Date: January 16, 2025 Primary Point of Contact and Contact Information:

Name: Lori Wingrove Title: APMO Facilitator Email: proc.apmo.mr@irs.gov

Administering Social Benefits through the Tax Code The Government has interest in and is seeking information about how the Respondent would design and implement a joint research project with the Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS) of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) on administering social benefits through the tax system. The project would take a wholistic approach by evaluating the economic implications and administrability of various administrative and legislative proposals and is meant to inform stakeholders as they consider administering social benefits through the tax code.

The IRS is looking for vendors who can provide a group of subject matter experts (SMEs) to make a detailed technical assessment of the quality of existing IRS technical tax training materials, create and deliver technical tax training and job resources, as well as serve as strategic adhoc advisors to new and existing IRS enforcement personnel (Revenue Agents and Economists) to engage more broadly and successfully in complex areas of tax enforcement (large partnerships, large corporations, high income and high wealth).

Description of Contemplated Services The Government has interest in and is seeking information regarding the capability of an organization to collaborate with TAS to conduct a joint research project. The project would have two primary objectives: (1) provide a wholistic evaluation of administering social benefits through the tax system and (2) provide an estimation of the effect of IRS individual tax identification numbers (ITIN) procedures on children and spouses with ITINs or the children and spouses of ITN holders. The project would include such topics as:

· The pain points in the administration of social benefits through the tax system;

· The demographics of the taxpayer population claiming such social benefits, including the complexity of modern family structures;

· The tax and economic effect of changes in the earned income tax credit (EITC) structure on taxpayers, their children, the IRS, and the national fisc.

· Potential ways to modernize and/or simplify the definition of a qualifying child;

· The impact of restructuring the EITC by breaking it up into worker and child components; and

· Potential ways to reduce the improper payment rate.

· Challenges in administering individual tax identification numbers (ITINs) and the problems faced by taxpayers in the application and renewal processes;

· The impact of ITIN filers on the national economy and an estimation of the loss of tax revenue attributable to taxpayers who choose to not obtain an ITIN.

The project would take a wholistic approach to evaluating administrative and legislative proposals by examining both their economic implications (e.g., budgetary and distributional implications) and their administrability. The objective of this wholistic analysis is to provide useful insights to inform stakeholders as they consider administering social benefits through the tax code.

Description of Services TAS would provide aggregate tax data to the Contractor. Both TAS and the Contractor would agree upon the type of aggregate data needed for the project and the analysis of the data. The Contractor would be expected to evaluate the economic implications of various agreed upon administrative and legislative proposals and draft a final written research report, with input from and approval by TAS. Both parties would receive credit and have the right to publish the final report.

RFI Instructions Responses to this RFI are requested in two (2) parts and must be submitted using Attachment 3 RFI Response Template.

Part I Company Profile Information - IRS seeks company profile information about the firms that provide services positioned to address the requirements discussed above.

Part II Capability - IRS seeks Industry responses to specific questions. Do not include any support documentation for any company other than your own. This is an analysis of your company’s abilities.

Part I: Company Profile Information Responders to this Notice must provide the following company information:

Company Name and Address Company technical Point of Contact (POC) information to include name, title, telephone number, and email address.

Applicable NAICS (North American Industry Classification System) Code List active governmentwide contracts that your company has been awarded (GWACs, IDIQs, and BPAs – include applicable SIN) Business Classification / Socio-Economic Status (e.g., large, small, 8(a), women owned, hub-zone, SDB, Service-Disabled Veteran Owned) Subcontracting / partnering / teaming possibilities.

Part II: Technical Capability Responses to this Notice must include the following:

a) General:

· Please provide any additional insights that would help us design and implement the joint research project.

· What would be the most important considerations in the selection of your organization for performance of these services?

· Does your organization plan to subcontract either a professional or small business to perform any of the tasks?

· How would your organization approach the performance of these services?

· How much time do you estimate it would take your organization to perform the requested services? This estimate should include the time required to provide research and economic analysis, draft a research report, conduct accuracy reviews, and seeking any necessary approvals. Is the timeframe reliant on any of the following: hiring staff or subcontracting another professional/small business to perform any of the required tasks, timing of the data provided by TAS, purchase of software or equipment?

b) Experience and Expertise:

· What is your organization’s prior experience evaluating the economic implications of tax policies, conducting statistical and legal research, and drafting published written research reports? Were any of the prior experiences related to the administration of social benefits through the tax system, or the IRS ITIN program? Please describe any of your organization’s prior experiences studying the economic impact of changes in social benefits administered through the tax code or the effect of ITIN eligible taxpayers on the national economy.

· What is your organization’s experience evaluating the impact of changes to the tax code on the economic circumstances of children of the individual(s) claiming a social benefit credit by filing a tax return for example, how would changes to the structure of the EITC or the child tax credit impact the number of children lifted out of poverty by these credits?

· What is your organization’s prior experience evaluating the improper payment rate and participation rate of social benefit credits claimed through the tax code?

· What is your organization’s experience evaluating the ability of the IRS to effectively administer the social benefit credits for children offered through the tax code, including how well the IRS can verify the legitimacy of a claimed credit.

· For any prior experience listed in response to Question 2(a), was the project completed in collaboration with government, private industry, or both? Please provide details of the effort.

· For any prior experience listed in response to Question 2(a), how much time was required to accomplish the project?

· What background and experience do you think is required for the team members needed for this project? What are the qualifications, education levels, professional licenses, and/or certifications offered by the team members for this project? Please detail the research and economic expertise of the team members.

· Has your organization previously developed microsimulation models which can be used to analyze the impact of tax policy changes on both the social welfare of taxpayers and their children and the likelihood a taxpayer will filer a tax return if the tax policy change is adopted.

· What is your organization’s experience in cross-cutting immigration policy with tax policy, including the effect on the distribution of tax credits for children and the effect on voluntarily reporting income or employment taxes

c) Timeframe for Delivery of Services and Work Products:

· Please provide an estimate of the timeframe required to provide research and economic analysis, draft a research report, and conduct accuracy reviews and approvals.

· Is the delivery date reliant on any of the following: hiring staff or subcontracting another professional/small business to perform any of the required tasks, timing of the data provided by TAS, purchase of software or equipment?

d) General Pricing Info:

· How would you structure the team members needed to successfully deliver on this potential requirement?

· What labor categories do you think are applicable to each task, and why?

· What level of expertise would those resources have?

· What hourly rates would your company charge for the different levels of expertise needed?

· What is a Rough Order of Magnitude (ROM) estimated price to successfully deliver these requirements?

Questions and Comments

Open questions and comments relevant to this RFI may be provided for consideration. RFI questions must be submitted by January 06, 2025, by 10am EST. TAS will consolidate all questions received and provide a response on or before January 10, 2025, 10am EST. Responses should be sent electronically to proc.apmo.mr@irs.gov. In the subject line, please insert 25-06-A-PMO- Administering Social Benefits TT19. All RFI questions shall be emailed to BOTH the primary and secondary points of contact listed on page 1.

Terms and Conditions regarding this Notice This Notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay for the information provided in response. All costs associated with responding to this Notice are solely at the responding party's expense. The Government reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate. Further, the Government may contact the vendor for additional information regarding the information submitted as part of this market research effort. Any organization responding to this notice should ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed to allow the Government to determine the organization’s qualifications to perform the work. Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted. After a review of the responses received, a pre-solicitation synopsis and solicitation may be published in Government Point of Entry or other similar source (e.g., GSA E-buy). However, responses to this notice will not be considered adequate responses to a solicitation.

Responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract or agreement. The Government will not be obligated to pursue any particular acquisition alternative as a result of this notice. Responses to the notice will not be returned. Not responding to this notice does not preclude participation in any future solicitation if one is issued.

No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in responses to this Notice, unless otherwise appropriately marked by the Respondent. The Government reserves the right to use any non-proprietary technical information received in response to this Notice in any resultant solicitation(s).

Do Not Submit any Proposals/Offers in response to this Notice.

Thank you for your response to this Request for Information.

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