Sen. Portman introduces legislation for taxpayers’ right to appeal IRS claims
Lead Summary
By
-
Washington, D.C. – Senator Rob Portman (R-Ohio) has released the following statement on Tax Day and the introduction of new legislation to better protect taxpayer rights:
“Tax Day this year marks another year where American workers, families, and businesses have been saddled with a complicated, out-of-date tax code. It serves as a reminder that one of the most pressing issues before Congress is pro-growth tax reform that simplifies our tax code, promotes job creation, and makes America more competitive. What’s more, many Americans have lost trust in an IRS that has recently targeted conservative groups and failed to be good stewards of taxpayers’ money and our tax laws.
“In December, I was pleased that President Obama signed into law three common-sense bills that I authored and introduced last tax day, but there is still more work to do. That is why I am introducing new legislation today that gives taxpayers the ability to appeal to the IRS Office of Appeals and ensures that the IRS can’t farm out audits of private taxpayer information to outside law firms.”
The Coalition for Effective & Efficient Tax Administration (CEETA), a group that comprises 14 trade associations and taxpayer groups, praised the bill, saying: “As Americans across the country face their tax filing deadline today, they should take comfort in knowing that Senator Rob Portman once again introduced legislation that will protect their rights against IRS overreach and inappropriate examination practices. The Coalition for Effective & Efficient Tax Administration (CEETA) hails Sen. Portman’s efforts to protect taxpayer rights across a broad spectrum of aggressive IRS audit practices.”
NOTE: The IRS Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998 requires that the Commissioner of the IRS ensure taxpayers have the right to appeal to the IRS Office of Appeals. However, recent IRS tactics have sought to deny taxpayers the right to appeal, forcing them to pay the IRS’s initial tax assessment or go to court. The IRS also recently retained a private law firm to conduct an audit of a private taxpayer – a practice unprecedented in the history of the IRS. Portman’s new bill gives taxpayers the ability to appeal to the IRS Office of Appeals and ensures that the IRS can’t farm out audits of private taxpayer information to outside law firms.
Portman has been a leader in the effort to rein in IRS abuses. The year-end tax extenders legislation included three Portman-authored bills designed to help in this effort to stop IRS abuses:
• The Taxpayer Bill of Rights Act provides transparency, assistance, and clearly defined rights for taxpayers when dealing with the IRS. Specifically, the law says that taxpayers have the right to be informed; the right to be assisted; the right to be heard; the right to pay not more than the correct amount of tax; the right to appeal; the right to certainty; the right to privacy; the right to confidentiality; the right to representation; and the right to a fair and just tax system.
• The Prevent Targeting at the IRS Act authorizes the IRS to terminate employees who target individuals based on their political beliefs. This law allows the IRS to terminate any employee who, for political purposes, undertakes official action with respect to a taxpayer or, depending on the circumstance, delays or fails to take action.
• The Fair Treatment for All Donations Act permanently ensures donations to nonprofit organizations are not subject to the gift tax. Since the gift tax’s enactment in 1932, it has been inconsistently applied to donations to tax-exempt organizations. This law codifies the IRS’s current interpretation that the tax does not apply to these donations, giving taxpayers certainty and ensuring that the tax can’t be applied based on a donor’s political beliefs.
“Tax Day this year marks another year where American workers, families, and businesses have been saddled with a complicated, out-of-date tax code. It serves as a reminder that one of the most pressing issues before Congress is pro-growth tax reform that simplifies our tax code, promotes job creation, and makes America more competitive. What’s more, many Americans have lost trust in an IRS that has recently targeted conservative groups and failed to be good stewards of taxpayers’ money and our tax laws.
“In December, I was pleased that President Obama signed into law three common-sense bills that I authored and introduced last tax day, but there is still more work to do. That is why I am introducing new legislation today that gives taxpayers the ability to appeal to the IRS Office of Appeals and ensures that the IRS can’t farm out audits of private taxpayer information to outside law firms.”
The Coalition for Effective & Efficient Tax Administration (CEETA), a group that comprises 14 trade associations and taxpayer groups, praised the bill, saying: “As Americans across the country face their tax filing deadline today, they should take comfort in knowing that Senator Rob Portman once again introduced legislation that will protect their rights against IRS overreach and inappropriate examination practices. The Coalition for Effective & Efficient Tax Administration (CEETA) hails Sen. Portman’s efforts to protect taxpayer rights across a broad spectrum of aggressive IRS audit practices.”
NOTE: The IRS Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998 requires that the Commissioner of the IRS ensure taxpayers have the right to appeal to the IRS Office of Appeals. However, recent IRS tactics have sought to deny taxpayers the right to appeal, forcing them to pay the IRS’s initial tax assessment or go to court. The IRS also recently retained a private law firm to conduct an audit of a private taxpayer – a practice unprecedented in the history of the IRS. Portman’s new bill gives taxpayers the ability to appeal to the IRS Office of Appeals and ensures that the IRS can’t farm out audits of private taxpayer information to outside law firms.
Portman has been a leader in the effort to rein in IRS abuses. The year-end tax extenders legislation included three Portman-authored bills designed to help in this effort to stop IRS abuses:
• The Taxpayer Bill of Rights Act provides transparency, assistance, and clearly defined rights for taxpayers when dealing with the IRS. Specifically, the law says that taxpayers have the right to be informed; the right to be assisted; the right to be heard; the right to pay not more than the correct amount of tax; the right to appeal; the right to certainty; the right to privacy; the right to confidentiality; the right to representation; and the right to a fair and just tax system.
• The Prevent Targeting at the IRS Act authorizes the IRS to terminate employees who target individuals based on their political beliefs. This law allows the IRS to terminate any employee who, for political purposes, undertakes official action with respect to a taxpayer or, depending on the circumstance, delays or fails to take action.
• The Fair Treatment for All Donations Act permanently ensures donations to nonprofit organizations are not subject to the gift tax. Since the gift tax’s enactment in 1932, it has been inconsistently applied to donations to tax-exempt organizations. This law codifies the IRS’s current interpretation that the tax does not apply to these donations, giving taxpayers certainty and ensuring that the tax can’t be applied based on a donor’s political beliefs.