Senate Tax Panel Member Wants Stronger IRS Reform Bill

Tuesday, March 10, 1998

OnLine

The version of the Internal Revenue Service restructuring bill (H.R. 2292) that the House passed last year is too weak, and the Senate should take steps to strengthen it when the Senate Finance Committee considers the measure, Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, wrote Senate Finance Committee Chairman William Roth, R-Del.

"I believe it is important that the Finance Committee report the strongest bill possible. We must reform the IRS with this legislation; we will not have a second chance to do this," Grassley wrote last week.

The taxpayer rights and management reform provisions from the bill should be enhanced, wrote Grassley, who was a member of the National Commission on Restructuring the IRS.

The Finance Committee plans to mark up a restructuring bill in the next few weeks, but wants to be certain the bill has no glitches before the panel proceeds, congressional sources said. Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., promised to pass a restructuring bill before the start of the April 4 recess.

Grassley prefers the version of the restructuring bill that he introduced with fellow IRS Restructuring Commission members, Sen. Bob Kerrey, D-Neb., and Rep. Rob Portman, R-Ohio.

Aside from Grassley’s concerns, the Finance Committee wants to look at expanding the relief provided in the bill for spouses that get stuck with their ex-husbands’ or ex-wives’ tax bills, and for taxpayers that get hit with excessive penalties.

Grassley’s concerns

The IRS oversight board envisioned by the House-passed bill should be given more independence, Grassley contended in his letter. The board approved by the House would contain eight members, including those from the private sector, and would be restricted from getting involved in certain tax policy decisions.

The House-passed language on the oversight board reflects a careful compromise between reform advocates in the House and administration representatives, who are concerned about creating conflicts of interest for oversight board members.

The bill also should be modified to require the IRS to explain the appeals procedures available to taxpayers who receive delinquency letters; to ensure that the taxpayer advocate position is filled by someone with individual, not just corporate, tax experience; and to ensure that IRS employees are evaluated based on how they treat taxpayers, Grassley also wrote.

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