Senator Marshall: Americans Are Keeping More of Their Earnings

Senator Marshall Questions IRS CEO

Washington - On Wednesday, U.S. Senator Roger Marshall, M.D. (R-Kansas), questioned Frank Bisignano, CEO of the Internal Revenue Service, at the Senate Finance Committee. The hearing focused on IRS operations and the 2026 tax filing season.

Senator Marshall's questions were centered around tax savings Americans are seeing this year, the new no tax on overtime legislation, and the improved efficiency of the IRS.

Click HERE or on the image above for Senator Marshall's full remarks

Highlights from the hearing include:

Senator Marshall: "Thank you, Chairman, and welcome, Commissioner. I just want to stop and say thank you. You have a great American story, and I hope folks back home are listening. A kid from Brooklyn, New York, is that what I remember? And you end up in Baldwin City, Kansas, the Baker University, an All-American varsity athlete, and end up as a financial guru. You know, it's just that a kid from a small town college can be just as successful. And it's not lost upon me that this is a service that you're doing, much like going to the military; what you're doing now is giving back to this country and bringing your expertise. I'm grateful for it, and there's many Americans that are grateful for it as well. I'd like to start with - it's Tax Day. This is the day that most Americans dread. In my research, I found out that maybe 60% of Americans typically get some type of a refund, but this year, I think the number is going to be over 70%. And it is significant numbers - the numbers I'm seeing are $2,000-$4,000. Hard-working families, probably that $2,000 refund is probably closer, and, sure, people making over $400,000, they're going to get that bigger refund. But what I'm impressed with is your attention to detail, and specifically operational and technical expertise. Can you briefly speak to what you're doing to improve things, and what measures are you using to say, indeed, we are operationally improving, and our technical process is improving as well?"

Mr. Bisignano: "Yeah, I think, first of all, I think one of the most impressive stats we have is 500 million visits and queries to IRS.gov, which is a 60% improvement. And that didn't just happen because people woke up and thought they should use the system more, it happened because we built way more capability for them to use. And that changed the amount of phone calls we actually got - we actually got less phone calls than last year. While that happened, I think you know the idea that we were able to raise electronic filing even by a full 1%, from 97% to over 98%. I think, you know, I hear people want to dismiss the item, or they have some report of something other than reality, the fact that over 90% of people are getting refunds in 21 days or less is unheard of. So how that all happened? It happened with the good work of the people in the organization and preparedness and discipline - management discipline - to oversee and discuss every week the progress. So I think the idea of being a digital-first agency is appropriate. I think that's what the American public - they want to be met where they want to be met. If it's in the Taxpayer Service Center, if it's on the phones, or if it's on the web."

Senator Marshall: "If I could just kind of go at that meeting people where they are. My staff back home is very supportive of VITA, Volunteering Income Tax Assistance. I know the folks from K-State Extension are helping people with their taxes - probably why more of those are going forward, and hope that you continue to support those. I kind of got a one-off thing: a 45Z issue with Dodge City, Kansas, and an anaerobic lagoon. I'm going to submit that question and ask you to get back with us on that. I did want to, you know, just brag that we led this no tax on overtime wages. I grew up in a family that worked by the hour and just was so frustrated in my years when I was working overtime, trying to get myself through school, getting high taxes on that. I think it's the most successful of all the no taxes, no tax no overtime. 23 million people. Any comments on that one?"

Mr. Bisignano: "Yeah. I mean, you know, I've heard it from people. I say maybe the most interesting thing is, people want to work overtime now more than they did. Business owners are benefiting from it, the people are benefiting from it - over 25 million filers. And I'd say they're getting a deduction of $3,100, a little over $3,100, each. I mean, that's real money, you guys have done a fabulous job."

Senator Marshall: "Thanks for implementing it. The last one I'll tee up for you is, I was trying to review the number of IRS employees, and maybe in 2019, I'm seeing 78,000. It ballooned to 103,000 under the previous administration. I'm not sure where those numbers are now, but more importantly, to give you a chance to brag, I feel like you're getting more done with less people."

Mr. Bisignano: "Yeah. I mean, I'm a deep believer in Parkinson's Law, and you know, I think that technology is a great enabler, we have to get the benefit of everything we implemented. And I think we have a highly motivated staff -I think we have a highly motivated staff who has done a great job. Thank you. Good to see you."

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