Well, it's rather obvious that the people that wrote this article are about as ignorant as they come.
Sent from my iPhone > On Apr 19, 2018, at 3:47 PM, Nash, Jonathan S. > <000001abdcef2f3c-dmarc-requ...@listserv.ua.edu> wrote: > > IRS - 60-Year-Old IT System Failed on Tax Day > Due to New Hardware > > By Aaron Boyd and Frank Konkel > April 19, 2018 06:02 PM > > https://www.nextgov.com/it-modernization/2018/04/irs-60-year-old-it-system-failed-tax-day-due-new-hardware/147598/ > > Congress and watchdogs have been warning the IRS to upgrade > its systems for years. > > The Internal Revenue Service attributed the agency’s Tax Day > crash to a piece of hardware supporting an IT system that is > almost 60 years old. > > Called the Individual Master File, components of the system - > including 20 million lines of computer code—date back to 1960, > when John F. Kennedy was president. > > IRS told Nextgov 18-month-old hardware supporting the > Individual Master File experienced a caching issue causing > the system to fail. The failure disrupted almost all other > services and systems IRS provides because those systems > ingest data from the Individual Master File. When those > systems—such as Direct Pay and the structured payments > portal—called to the Individual Master File mainframe and > got no response, they too failed. > > Despite repeated warnings from the Government Accountability > Office and Congress, IRS plans to modernize the system are > at least six years behind schedule and several hundred > million dollars over budget. > > This was our biggest fear about one of these > mission-critical systems crashing, Dave Powner, GAO's > director of IT management issues, told Nextgov Thursday. > Fortunately, it wasn't down for a long period of time, so > in that way, we dodged a bullet. > > Still, the crash forced the IRS to extend the tax filing > deadline one day, delaying some 14 million submissions. It > could be several years before the Individual Master File is > fully modernized and rid of 1960s-era technology. > > To address the risk of a system failure, the IRS has a plan > to modernize two core components of the IMF by 2021, > followed by a year of parallel validation before retiring > those components in 2022,” the IRS told Nextgov in March, > before the crash occurred. That timeline could slip because > the IRS says it needs to hire at least 50 additional > employees—while backfilling any attrition—plus an additional > $85 million per year in annual non-labor funding over the > next five years. The president’s fiscal 2018 budget request > called for a $239 million reduction in funding for the IRS, > which has faced numerous cuts in recent years. > > Since Republicans gained control of the House of > Representatives in 2010, their partisan attacks have left > the IRS with nearly 10,000 fewer customer service > representatives to assist taxpayers and a patchwork of IT > systems, some dating back to the Kennedy Administration, > which is ultimately harming all taxpayers,” Rep. Gerry > Connolly, D-Va., told Nextgov. > > However, the Republican-led House ratified a package of nine > IRS reform bills following the Tax Day crash that could amp > up IRS’ modernization efforts. The bills, including the > 21st-Century IRS Act and the Taxpayer First Act, will stress > improving the customer experience for taxpayers as well as > modernizing technology across the agency. The reform package > was ushered in by the House Ways and Means committee, > chaired by Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Texas. > > A new tax code calls for a new tax administrator, and we > have worked together so that the IRS can be transformed into > an agency with a singular mission: taxpayer first, Brady > said in a statement. > > One of the bills will require IRS to compile a plan to > enhance agency technology and customer service. That plan is > due to Congress by September. > > The Individual Master File contains data from 1 billion > taxpayer accounts dating back several decades and is the > chief IRS application responsible for receiving 100 million > Americans’ individual taxpayer data and dispensing refunds. > IRS first attempted to replace the system with a modernized > Customer Account Data Engine, but that effort was canceled > in 2009. A delivery date for CADE 2, the IRS’ subsequent > modernization effort, has slipped several years even as > contractors working on the project have earned as much as > $290 million. > > We still have not seen a solid plan in place, Powner told > Nextgov. GAO identified the Individual Master File as the > oldest technology system still operational in government in > 2016. > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, > send email to lists...@listserv.ua.edu with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to lists...@listserv.ua.edu with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN
