An Internal Revenue Service report highlighting agency moves to crack down on identity theft is a start, but does not go far enough, Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus said Tuesday.

IRS Commissioner Douglas H. Shulman sent the report to Baucus, along with a letter, to update him on the agency’s Identity Protection Strategy. The July 21 report and letter were in response to a request made by the Montana Democrat during an April hearing on the issue.

Baucus said in a statement that he was pleased with some aspects of the IRS update, most notably that the agency now allows taxpayers to “self-report” to the IRS when their identities have been stolen, rather than having to wait and see if their information will be fraudulently used by another person to file a tax return.

According to Shulman’s letter and corresponding report, the IRS is focusing on enhancing efforts to reduce identity theft “through three overarching goals: victim assistance, outreach, and prevention.”

Among the initiatives he outlined were using an “indicator” to track the returns of victims of identity theft, opening an assistance center for identity theft victims and forming a group of security experts to combat online fraud.

But in a statement released Tuesday, Baucus said: “While this report is full of good intentions, its actual treatment of the problem is tepid and insufficient. I need the IRS to give me clear, substantive answers on their strategic plan — and its implementation — to treat and resolve cases of identity theft.”

During an April 2007 hearing, Baucus seized on the testimony of a convicted identity thief to challenge then-IRS Commissioner Mark W. Everson on the plans the agency had in place to deter identity theft.

The witness, Evangelos Dimitrios Soukas, bilked the government of $40,000 in bogus refunds by using other people’s names and Social Security numbers. Soukas suggested the IRS require proof of identification from taxpayers who file electronically or call with questions. He suggested requiring a mother’s maiden name or a personal ID code.

While Everson said he would look into the suggestions of Soukas, he warned that a number of the ideas could slow the process.

“If you stop everything that you think is questionable, then you will be damaging the interest of some legitimate taxpayers,” Everson said.

Following Soukas’ testimony, Baucus voiced his displeasure with the IRS protocols then in place. “The story you tell is not one to be proud of, but there’s not much for the IRS to be proud of either,” the chairman said.

In his letter to Baucus, Shulman said that while identity theft remains a major challenge for the IRS, the agency is committed to fixing the problem.

“When a taxpayer contacts us with an issue or concern, we should have in place a seamless process that gets the issue resolved promptly,” Shulman wrote in the letter. “From the perspective of an identity-theft victim, that means the taxpayer can reach someone at the IRS who is knowledgeable on the issue and who is able to take care of the problem quickly and permanently.”

Baucus said in his statement that he plans to follow up with Shulman to “make certain my intentions are clear,” with the goal of clarifying the overall design of the IRS identity theft strategy with attention to specific goals, measures and timelines, among other things.