INDIANAPOLIS — The leader of Indiana's tax collection agency is making customer service a top priority, even as he oversees a "once in a generation" upgrade of the technology used to annually process more than $18 billion in payments.
Commissioner Adam Krupp admitted Tuesday that serving the state's 3.2 million taxpayers efficiently and effectively hasn't always been the overriding goal of the Indiana Department of Revenue.
He said that changed in January when new Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb demanded state agencies provide Hoosiers outstanding government service at the best taxpayer value.
"With change comes opportunity," said Krupp, a Plymouth, Indiana, native who became revenue commissioner Jan. 9 after serving as general counsel at the Bureau of Motor Vehicles.
"There is a renewed focus and a desire to serve, so that customer service is a top priority for this agency. We should not be looked at as bullies."
The department's bullying legacy still lingered at its annual meeting for taxpayers to identify problems at the agency.
Advocates for low-income Hoosiers related numerous instances of aggressive wage garnishments and bank account seizures to satisfy tax debts, as well as the department's reluctance to work with individuals who desperately want to pay what they owe but can't afford the payment plans offered.
Krupp acknowledged that customer service levels still "are not where they should be."
But he said he's working to spread to the agency's 600 employees his customer service mantra: "There is no point at which you have done all that you can do."
Krupp also identified the department's outdated Revenue Processing System as a significant challenge to providing Hoosiers the tax information they want, and rightfully are entitled to have, concerning their payments, refund status and other tax questions.
That soon should no longer be a problem since the Republican-controlled General Assembly in April approved spending $33 million over the next two years to upgrade the department's technology, in what Krupp described as a "once-in-a-generation opportunity to modernize its current tax systems and related processes.
"In an era of advanced technology we are seeking the best, most efficient tax system, at a reasonable cost to Hoosiers, to seamlessly transition the department to the future of tax administration," Krupp said.
He indicated that includes greater capacity for electronic filing, which comprised 85 percent of individual income tax returns submitted during the 2017 budget year.
It also includes continued support for the rigorous identity theft and refund fraud prevention tools that Krupp said have blocked more than $100 million in false refunds since 2014, including 1,069 attempts filed this year.