Washington ? The Internal Revenue Service announced plans Friday to close 68 taxpayer assistance centers and shift more customer service to telephone help lines and volunteer programs.

The changes anticipate cuts to the tax agency’s budget for customer service next year. IRS Commissioner Mark Everson said taxpayers increasingly sought telephone and online tax help, which can be more accurate and less expensive.

“One of the greatest problems in government is that government never closes. It continues to limp along and try to do everything,” IRS Commissioner Mark Everson said. “What we’re trying to do is recognize where things are growing.”

To meet the expected cut to its customer service budget, the IRS also plans to reduce toll-free telephone assistance from 15 hours to 12 hours a day. Everson said taxpayers would notice no difference in waiting times.

The tax agency plans to save money by ending a program that let taxpayers with very simple tax returns file over the telephone, a program that fewer taxpayers use each year.

Colleen Kelley, president of the National Treasury Employees Union, said the announced changes did not save enough money to meet the proposed budget reductions and more drastic service and job cuts might be on the way.

“We think this is probably just the beginning of the cuts that they’re going to try to make, and I’m telling employees that,” she said.

Everson said additional changes wouldn’t affect taxpayer services unless lawmakers did not approve the more than $10 billion budget the president requested.

“My biggest concern here is not that we’re making these reductions,” Everson said. “My concern here is that Congress will not provide all the money that the president’s requested.”

Taxpayers can visit taxpayer assistance sites to solve problems with their tax accounts, ask questions about tax laws or pick up forms and instructions. Low-income taxpayers can get help preparing a tax return.