mm Friday, April .18, 2014 7A DYLAN BROWN/Standard-Examiner IRS Commissioner John Koskinen speaks at a news conference Thursday at the IRS Main Building after holding a town hall for Ogden employees about how the IRS is functioning with a smaller budget and how this will affect taxpayers. IRS chief talks about cutbacks By JESUS LOPEZ Jr. Standard-Examiner staff OGDEN — A shortage of resources, the effects of the Affordable Care Act and a surge in phone scams are a few of the issues John Koskinen, the new commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service, addressed on Thursday. Koskinen made a stop in Ogden as part of his tour of the 25 largest IRS offices in the country. It was Koski- nen's first visit to the area since his appointment to the position less than six months ago. The IRS has thousands of seasonal and full-time employees spread across several campuses in the Ogden area. The agency is always trying to become more efficient, Koskinen said, but there are not enough people to make the efficiencies possible. Since the federal budget sequestration, the IRS has functioned with less money and fewer personnel. The problems will be compounded with the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, he said. Unless Congress loosens the purse strings to the IRS, Koskinen said, taxpayers can expect a 50 per cent reduction in customer service. "You punish the IRS; you punish the taxpayers," Koskinen said. The results could mean longer wait times on phone calls and delays in responses to correspondence on issues such as tax adjustments and refunds. He said employees raised the issue as part of a town hall meeting that Koskinen attended with more than 100 employees at the IRS Main Building, 1160 W 12th St., Marriott- Slaterville. "The people who know the most about what is going on in our organization are the frontline employees," Koskinen said. The concern for a lack of resources outweighed the concern of layoffs and pay, he said. "Employees continued to be focused on their work," Koskinen said. IRS officials said they selected the employees randomly from a pool within the Main Building who expressed an interest in meeting the commissioner. He also planned to meet with area executives, managers and criminal investigators from the IRS. A news conference at noon followed the town hall meeting. Koskinen's visit follows the an nual tax filing deadline. He gave advice to those who missed the April 15 deadline. "Those who haven't filed shouldn't panic," Koskinen said, recommending late filers apply for an extension and quickly pay what they can of existing fees. Koskinen also warned taxpayers of a surge in telephone scams. In the common scam, a caller threatens taxpayers to make an immediate payment over the phone. He assured taxpayers that IRS first makes contact formally by mail. "If you hear from us on the phone first," Koskinen said, "chances are you haven't heard from us at all." In response, Koskinen said, the taxpayers should take the caller's phone number and hang up. "This is a good time of the year for criminals to call and say they are with us," Koskinen said. To confirm an IRS phone number, contact 800-829-1040. Forward bogus IRS emails to phishing@irs.gov. Contact Jesus Lopez Jr. at 801-625-4239 or jlopez@standard. net. Follow him on Twitter at @ jesuslopezSE and I ike him on Facebook atfacebnok.com/ JesusLopezSE.