The Orange County Register reports today (one time subscriprtion required) that the IRS cannot tell whether its 400 help centers help taxpayers. The report, from independent auditor J. Russell George, the Treasury Department’s Inspector General for Tax Administration, was disputed by the IRS.
Of course, the telephone help has been plagued by possible incorrect answers—anywhere from 22% to 50% of the answers have been wrong, according to reports (see here, here, and here).