WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service is facing new criticism over the backlog of unprocessed tax returns.

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The latest public numbers from IRS officials show the agency still has 10.5 million unprocessed returns from the 2021 tax year, which is an improvement from the 21 million unprocessed returns reported in May.

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Congress sent the IRS $1.5 billion earlier this year to help deal with the backlog.

Photos: IRS faces criticism over backlog of unprocessed tax returns

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IRS faces criticism over backlog of unprocessed tax returns

Now some lawmakers want to know how that money’s been used.

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U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson has some pointed words in a letter he sent to the head of the IRS this week.

“The IRS does not hesitate to penalize and fine taxpayers for late filings and payments, yet it does not hold itself accountable when it does not process taxpayers’ returns in a timely manner,” Johnson wrote.

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Johnson’s asking that the IRS provide key answers about their tax return backlog in the next ten days.

See more in the video above.

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