“Please hold: Pricey way to jump IRS phone line at tax time”

Robert Nassau, teaching professor and director of the Low Income Taxpayer Clinic in the College of Law, was quoted in the Associated Press story “Please hold: Pricey way to jump IRS phone line at tax time.” In his role at the Low Income Taxpayer Clinic, Nassau supervises a number of law students each semester who help low-income people file their taxes.

During this process it can be extremely difficult to get through to IRS agents for support, which has only been worsened by the development of companies like enQ, a line-jumping service for tax season. “It doesn’t seem fair that when it comes to the IRS, you’re basically buying better access to the service and getting faster access. Eventually we get through and it may take several more days. I can imagine these enQ people costing us a couple of days,” Nassau said.