By Charles O. Rossotti

As we begin the year 2000 tax filing season, the Internal Revenue Service continues to work to put service first for America's taxpayers. We want to build on the strong foundation we established last year and give you more support and help than ever before. Our goal is to provide the easiest and most efficient ways for you to get the information, service, and assistance you need not only during the tax-filing season, but also throughout the yea.

Last year, we expanded our toll-free telephone hours to times that met your needs and busy schedules. More than 250 IRS offices across the nation offered Saturday service on 13 weekends at times and locations convenient to you. We are also working to ensure that you receive complete and accurate service as well as correct information on your tax law questions and your accoun.

We now have a vigorous electronic tax-filing program in place. Online filing last year ran 161 percent ahead of the previous year's pace as more taxpayers discovered the advantages of electronically filing their returns. It is not only fast, safe, and virtually error-free, but taxpayers filing by our e-file program receive refunds in half the time of paper returns - even faster with direct deposi.

If you used your personal computer to file last year, you may also have the opportunity for totally paperless filing. In addition, Form 1040 e-filers with a balance due can once again pay their taxes with a credit car.

We are also making it easier for taxpayers to get forms and information, whether it is by mail, toll-free telephone, our Web site (www.irs.gov), fax machine, or CD-ROMs. In addition, we hope to be able to add even more services as we bring new technology online, and just as importantly, measure your satisfaction with our service.

As we enter the new millennium, the IRS is engaged in its most fundamental reorganization in almost a half century that will require change in almost every aspect of the agency. The modernized IRS will be built around serving taxpayer groups with specific needs. Through these changes, we can succeed in producing an IRS that better serves America's taxpayers - both individually and collectively, but there are no quick fixes. This process will take years to accomplish, but we are convinced of the necessity and value to every taxpayer of reaching this higher level of performance.

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