Senate Finance Committee Leadership Issue Proposals To Improve IRS

The leadership of the Senate Finance Committee have issued a discussion draft of bipartisan legislative proposals to make administrative and procedural improvements to the Internal Revenue Service.

These fixes were described as “common sense” in a joint press release issued by committee Chairman Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-Ore.)

“As the tax filing season gets underway, this draft legislation suggests practical ways to improve the taxpayer experience,” the two said in the joint statement. “These adjustments to the laws governing IRS procedure and administration are designed to facilitate communication between the agency and taxpayers, streamline processes for tax compliance, and ensure taxpayers have access to timely expert assistance.”

The draft legislation, currently named the Taxpayer Assistance and Services Act, covers a range of subject areas, including:

• Tax administration and customer service;
• American citizens abroad;
• Judicial review;
• Improvements to the Office of the Taxpayer Advocate;
• Tax Return Preparers;
• Improvements to the Independent Office of Appeals;
• Whistleblowers;
• Stopping tax penalties on American hostages;
• Small business; and
• Other miscellaneous issues.

A summary of the legislative provisions can be found here.

Some of the policies include streamlining the review of offers-in-compromise to help taxpayers resolve tax debts; clarifying and expanding Tax Court jurisdiction to help taxpayers pursue claims in the appropriate venue; expand the independent of the National Taxpayer Advocate; increase civil and criminal penalties on tax professionals that do deliberate harm; and extend the so-called “mailbox rule” to electronic submissions to provide more certainty that submissions to the IRS are done in a timely manner.

National Taxpayer Advocate Erin Collins said in a statement that the legislation “would significantly strengthen taxpayer rights in nearly every facet of tax administration.”

Likewise, the American Institute of CPAs voiced their support for the legislative proposal.

Melaine Lauridsen, vice president of Tax Policy and Advocacy at AICPA, said in a statement that the proposal “will be instrumental in establishing a foundation that helps simplify some of the laborious tax filing processes and allows taxpayers to better meet their tax obligation. We look forward to working with Senators Wyden and Crapo as this discussion draft moves forward.”

By Gregory Twachtman, Washington News Editor