WASHINGTON — On this Tax Day, the IRS is promoting the customer service improvements the agency rolled out since receiving tens of billions in new funding dollars through Democrats’ Inflation Reduction Act.

From cutting phone wait times to digitizing more documents and improving the “Where’s My Refund” tool to show more account details in plain language, agency leadership is trying to bring attention to what’s been done to repair the agency’s image as an outdated and maligned tax collector.

The promotion also in part is meant to quickly normalize a more efficient and effective IRS before congressional Republicans threaten another round of cuts to the agency. So time is of the essence for both taxpayers and the agency this season.

Get IRS contact info at irs.gov/help/let-us-help-you.

“This filing season, the IRS has built off past successes and reached new milestones,” Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on a Friday call with reporters. “It’s showing that when it has the resources it needs, it will provide taxpayers the service they deserve.”

“Delivering tax season is a massive undertaking,” said IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel. “We greatly appreciate people in many different areas working long hours to serve taxpayers as the tax deadline approaches.”

For most people, April 15 is the last day to submit tax returns or to file an extension and the IRS says it has received more than 100 million tax returns, with tens of millions more expected to be filed.

The IRS says call wait times have been cut down to three minutes this tax season, compared with the average 28 minutes in 2022. That has saved taxpayers 1.4 million hours of hold time and the agency has answered 3 million more calls compared with the same time frame. Also, an updated “Where’s My Refund” tool giving more specific information about taxpayers’ refunds in plain language was rolled out to 31 million views online.

Werfel told The Associated Press earlier in the tax season that the agency’s agenda is to deliver “better service for all Americans so that we can ease stress, frustration and make the tax filing process easier — and to increase scrutiny on complex filers where there’s risk of tax evasion.”

“When we do that,” Werfel said, “not only do we make the tax system work better because it’s easier and more streamlined to meet your tax obligations. But also we collect more money for the U.S. Treasury and lower our deficit. The IRS is a good investment.”

Major new initiatives in recent months have included an aggressive pursuit of high-wealth earners who don’t pay their full tax obligations, such as people who improperly deduct personal flights on corporate jets and those who just don’t file at all.

This also is the first tax season that the IRS has rolled out a program called Direct File, the government’s free electronic tax return filing system available to taxpayers in 12 states who have simple W-2 forms and claim a standard deduction.

If Direct File is successful and scaled up for the general public’s use, the program could drastically change how Americans file their taxes and how much money they spend completing them. That is, if the agency can see the program through its development in spite of threats to its funding.

The Inflation Reduction Act initially included $80 billion for the IRS.

However, House Republicans have successfully clawed back some of the money. They built a $1.4 billion reduction to the IRS into the debt ceiling and budget cuts package passed by Congress last summer. A separate agreement will take an additional $20 billion from the IRS over the next two years to divert to other nondefense programs.

Government watchdogs warn IRS funding cuts will reduce the amount of revenues the U.S. collects.

The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office reported in February that a $5 billion rescission from the IRS would reduce revenues by $5.2 billion over the next 10 years and increase the cumulative deficit by $0.2 billion. A $20 billion rescission would reduce revenues by $44 billion and a $35 billion rescission would reduce revenues by $89 billion and increase the deficit by $54 billion.

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Saturday was a sunny spring day, but over a thousand of us from 26 states and two Canadian provinces spent it ensconced within the Guthrie Theater.

There, we experienced one of North America’s destination theatrical events of the year: The official opening of the Guthrie’s “History Plays,” Shakespeare’s trilogy of tales about England’s monarchs between 1398 and 1420. Presented over 13 hours (almost 8½ of them in performance), it likely filled every heart with admiration for the 23-member cast. But I’m betting you’ll appreciate the productions more if you stagger them by days or weeks, allowing time for reflection between performances.

When the Guthrie undertook this same project in 1990, among the actors was Joseph Haj, now the company’s artistic director. As director of this incarnation of “The History Plays,” he’s helped craft quite the artistic achievement, whether examined as a whole or divided by three.

Contributing greatly to its success are the designs: Jan Chambers’ imaginative rotating set is full of staircases, balconies and pop-up set pieces, while Trevor Bowen’s costumes and Heather Gilbert’s lighting enhance the stories but never distract from them. And Jack Herrick’s always engaging score combines percussive Celtic-flavored folk with stately synthesizers.

‘Richard II’

Tyler Michaels King, center, as King Richard II, in “Richard II,” running through May 24, 2024 at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis. The theater is presenting Shakespeare’s three dramas encompassing the life and times of key players in the tumultuous English monarchy from 1398 to 1420: Richard II, Henry IV and Henry V. (Dan Norman / Guthrie Theater)

The plays follow the passing of the crown from one English king to another, but Shakespeare’s chief interest is always the interpersonal conflicts and motivations of his characters. His still astoundingly poetic writing is all about examining the nature of being human — in rhythmic, rhyming verse.

“Richard II” is alone in not being a war story — it’s a drama about a political coup — and I found it the most satisfying production of the three. When reflecting at day’s end upon the trilogy’s most impressive performances, the first to mind was Tyler Michaels King’s astonishingly vulnerable portrayal of King Richard as he processes his confusion and bitterness at having his crown taken from him.

He’s prepared for his descent from the throne by a transfixing deathbed dressing-down from Charity Jones’ John of Gaunt — Jones is a voice of stern reason throughout the trilogy — while David Andrew Macdonald lends layers to the conflicted and conflict-averse Duke of York, Jasmine Bracey making a memorable comedic turn as his fury-fueled wife.

‘Henry IV’

If Richard is the most fascinating dramatic character in the trilogy, the comedic equivalent for impact is Sir John Falstaff. This totally fictional character proved so popular with Elizabethan audiences that Shakespeare revived him by popular demand in “The Merry Wives of Windsor.” He’s a raconteur, thief and drinking companion of young Prince Hal, heir to the throne.

Oh sure, there’s a drama afoot about a rebellion against the titular monarch, and John Catron admirably inhabits the perpetually pissed-off Hotspur who leads it. But when the drums of war start beating, you may wish that you were back at the bar with Jimmy Kieffer’s hilariously garrulous Falstaff and the prankster tandem of the young prince (Daniel Jose Molina) and Ned Poins (Dustin Bronson).

Yet when we’re off to war, it’s Falstaff who provides a commoner’s point of view, lacing with dark humor his ruminations on the nature of “honor.”

‘Henry V’

Daniel José Molina, as King Henry V, and Dustin Bronson, as Edward, Lord Scroop of Masham, in “Henry V,” running through May 25, 2024 at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis. (Dan Norman / Guthrie Theater)

The most well-known of the three plays, thanks in part to film adaptations by Laurence Olivier and Kenneth Branagh, is basically a war story about a British invasion of France, filled with lots of swordplay and hand-to-hand combat. Kudos to fight director U. Jonathan Toppo, who also plays two roles.

It’s long been held up as a lesson in leadership, as Prince Hal has grown into a military leader who cultivates personal bonds with his soldiers and delivers the most famous pep talk in theatrical history (“We happy few! We band of brothers!”). Molina does a fine job with Henry’s transformation, but the character grows increasingly unsympathetic, especially when one considers this an unnecessary war of his own choosing.

Thank goodness for some comic relief from Bronson as the very silly French Dauphin. And Erin Mackey is a standout as the youngest of the pub retinue, Davy, and the French princess who becomes Henry’s love interest.

If your time is too limited to catch all three, I’d recommend prioritizing by chronology. But each production is a triumph in its own right.

Rob Hubbard can be reached at wordhub@yahoo.com.

‘Richard II,’ ‘Henry IV’ and ‘Henry V’

When: Through May 25

Where: Guthrie Theater, 818 Second St. S., Mpls.

Tickets: $82-$17; three-play package, $189-$66; available at 612-377-2224 or guthrietheater.org

Note: The one-day marathon of all three productions will be repeated on May 18.

Capsule: A monumental achievement best experienced in smaller bites.

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The scenario that played out Sunday looks to be a doomsday scenario of sorts for Minnesota. The Timberwolves fell to the No. 3 seed. They will not have home-court advantage if they meet Denver in the second round. And that “if” is suddenly looking like a questionable proposition.

Because Minnesota’s first-round opponent is a team in Phoenix that just swept Minnesota in three regular-season meetings, and none of the contests were particularly competitive. Given the three results this season — the Wolves weren’t within single digits of Phoenix in the second half of any of the three losses — you could make a strong argument that the Suns are the worst matchup for Minnesota.

In that way, Karl-Anthony Towns thinks they’re the best matchup.

“There’s no better team to be playing in the first round than a team that we struggled with all year,” Towns said.

What Towns means by that is Minnesota will be tested at the highest level right out of the postseason gates. The Wolves will get punched in the mouth. How can they respond? How can they evolve and grow?

“If there’s one thing these three games have shown, they’ve won decisively. We have to show our mettle, and we have to show our mental toughness come Game 1. Throw those three games out the window, utilize those games as learning experiences and find ways that we can utilize those games to finally put one on the left column against the Suns this year,” Towns said. “It’s a great opportunity for us to show what we’re made of and to show the NBA and the fans the team we say we can be. It’s going to be a great Game 1 (Saturday at Target Center). I’m excited. I’m happy to have this opportunity to show that championship pedigree that we’re saying that we have and that we’ve garnered through the year.”

Minnesota won a lot of games — 55, to be exact — this season. That’s the second-highest tally in franchise history. The reward is home-court advantage in the opening round of the playoffs. Minnesota sold out all 41 games at Target Center this season. The home crowd has, indeed, been an advantage, though it wasn’t close to enough Sunday.

“Everything is in front of us. We’ve asked for this position to be a home-court team with the advantage that we’ve been dying for,” Towns said. “We’ve got a team that has tested us the most this year. So we have everything set up for a really amazing series, and we have everything set up for us to prove our mettle and to prove if we’re that championship team we’ve been talking about since Day 1.”

Towns said he’s “really excited” that Minnesota has to take the difficult Round 1 matchup.

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“It’s only right. It’s going to make us better. It’s going to test our mental fortitude, and it’s going to test our discipline,” he said. “Those are going to be things that, if we get past Round 1, we’re going to need those types of things if we expect to be a championship team. So there’s no better place to put it to the test at the highest level than in Series 1.”

Scuffle

Phoenix guard Brad Beal and Anthony Edwards were each assessed technical fouls after a minor scuffle at mid-court in the second quarter on Sunday in which Beal and Wolves coach Chris Finch appeared to exchange words.

“He was barking at our bench,” Finch said.

That’s now how Beal took it.

“Coach Finch jumped in and he said some things out of his mouth that I didn’t really respect. Man to man, I rebuttal-ed back,” Beal said. “And Ant stepped in front of his coach, not really knowing what was going on. But respectfully you do that for your coach, so I’m not mad at him. We’re all good. It’s all good. No hard feelings.”