Slow-moving modernization and digitization efforts at the IRS continue to plague filers, the National Taxpayer Advocate said Wednesday in its annual report to Congress, pointing specifically to federal procurement roadblocks that are hindering the agency’s attempted shift away from paper-based returns. It is about taxpayers waiting too long for answers, refunds, and resolution,” the report said. But there are myriad other issues that go beyond staffing shortfalls, namely problems with the federal procurement system that have impeded the agency’s ability to acquire critical technology upgrades. “By the time a federal contract is in place, the technology specified may be an entire generation out of date,” the report said. “Until the IRS aligns its staffing, procurement, technology deployment, and performance management with these principles, taxpayers will continue to bear the cost of institutional inertia.”