(Bloomberg) — The IRS is freezing hiring, stopping most overtime pay and warning that during the upcoming filing season about half the phone calls it receives won't be answered.

The spending law signed by President Barack Obama yesterday gives the Internal Revenue Service $10.9 billion for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 3 percent less than last year and 12 percent below the administration's request.

"We have found substantial efficiencies in recent years, but there is little left to cut without hitting our core service and enforcement operations," IRS Commissioner John Koskinen wrote today in a message to employees. "This year we will have little choice but to do less with less."

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