IRS urged to cut postage and printing costs

The Internal Revenue Service could save as much as $20 million a year by cutting back on excess mailings and reducing the number of documents sent to taxpayers, the Treasury Department's inspector general for tax administration said in a report released last month.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., responded to the findings Monday, urging the IRS to reform the distribution and design of tax publications, forms and notices to help reduce a $29.5 million deficit expected in its postal budget this fiscal year.

"This is more than a matter of trimming government waste," Baucus said.

"Deficits in the publishing and postage budget at the IRS must be made up somewhere, and that can mean fewer resources to address other important objectives."

The IG report made recommendations for cutting postage and printing costs at the IRS, and many are already being implemented, the agency said.