The article explores pending legislation that would allow the IRS to outsource collection of delinquent taxes to private collection companies and law firms.

The article first looks at a brief history of tax collection. Next, it discusses problems in a prior pilot program that was abandoned because it was so unsuccessful. The article then explores various laws that need to be considered in implementing such a program including the FAIR Act, the various taxpayer rights act, and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. The article then takes a look at the proposed legislation and discusses how it would interact with the various laws already outlined. Finally, the article looks at the pros and cons of such a program both from the perspective of taxpayer rights and from an economic perspective.