Terry Lutes, director of the Electronic Tax Administration at the IRS.

After serving as interim director since October, Terry Lutes recently took over as the director of the Electronic Tax Administration at the IRS. In his new role, Lutes serves as the primary advisor to the agency on IRS-wide electronic administration matters. One of his chief responsibilities is ensuring the smooth transition of e-services into standard IRS practice.

In an exclusive audio interview with SmartPros, Lutes discusses the challenges ahead for the ETA, including the ambitious goals for e-filing and what it will take to achieve them, the details on how much the program has grown since its first year, and how new initiatives, such as the check-box authorization and self-select personal identification numbers, will impact tax professionals.

He also gives listeners the scoop on what the IRS is doing to drive down the per-return cost of filing electronically, an issue some practitioners have said has kept them from embracing online filing.

"One of the things we'll do to drive down that cost down is to increase the volume. This is an electronic system, we've made the investment in the basic infrastructure, so as our volume goes up year after year, then our cost per return gets lower," Lutes explained. "I think the key to lowering the cost is continuing to update the technology -- use faster, more efficient, better technology, but it's primarily to get the growth so we're getting more returns through that same investment."

To get the facts on e-filing, listen to the full interview by clicking here: http://accounting.pro2net.com/x29087.xml.

-- SmartPros News Staff

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