Present Law

The IRS is prohibited from using records of tax enforcement results to evaluate IRS employees directly involved in collection activities and the employees' immediate supervisors.

Description of Proposal

The proposal would prohibit using records of tax enforcement results to evaluate or to provide bonuses to any IRS employee. The proposal would also require the Treasury Inspector General to report to the Senate Finance and House Ways and Means Committees annually on whether the law is being followed.

Effective Date

The proposal would be effective on the date of enactment.

2. IRS employee contacts

Present Law

The IRS sends many different notices to taxpayers. Some (but not all) of these notices contain a name and telephone number of an IRS employee who the taxpayer may call if the taxpayer has any questions.

Description of Proposal

The proposal would require that all IRS notices and correspondence contain a name and telephone number of an IRS employee who the taxpayer may call. In addition, to the extent practicable and where it is advantageous to the taxpayer, the IRS should assign one employee to handle a matter with respect to a taxpayer until that matter is resolved.

Effective Date

The proposal would be effective 60 days after the date of enactment.

3. Use of pseudonyms by IRS employees

Present Law

The Federal Service Impasses Panel has ruled that if an employee believes that use of the employee's last name only will identify the employee due to the unique nature of the employee's last name, and/or nature of the office locale, then the employee may "register" a pseudonym with the employee's supervisor.

Description of Proposal

The proposal would require that an employee provide adequate justification, such as protecting personal safety, for the use of a pseudonym as part of the request and that management must approve the request to use a pseudonym before it may be used.

Effective Date

The proposal would be effective on the date of enactment.

4. Conferences of right in the National Office of IRS

Present Law

In any matter involving the submission of a substantive legal matter involving a specific taxpayer to the National Office of the IRS, the taxpayer is entitled to at least one conference (the "conference of right") at which it can explain its position.

Description of Proposal

The proposal would give a taxpayer the right to limit participation in its conference of right to IRS national office personnel.

Effective Date

The proposal would be effective on the date of enactment.

5. Illegal tax protestor designations

Present Law

The IRS designates individuals who meet certain criteria as "illegal tax protestors" in the IRS Master File.

Description of Proposal

The proposal would prohibit the use by the IRS of the "illegal tax protestor" designation. The IRS would, however, be permitted to designate that appropriate taxpayers are nonfilers; IRS must also remove the nonfiler designation once the taxpayer has filed tax returns for two consecutive years and paid all taxes shown on those returns. The Treasury Inspector General would be required to report to Congress annually regarding IRS compliance with the proposal.

Effective Date

The proposal would be effective on the date of enactment.

6. Allow tax-writing committees to obtain confidential information from IRS whistle blowers

Present Law

Tax return information generally may not be disclosed, except as specifically provided by statute. The Secretary of the Treasury may furnish tax return information to the Committee on Finance, the Committee on Ways and Means and the Joint Committee on Taxation upon a written request from the chairmen of such committees. If the information can be associated with, or otherwise identify, directly or indirectly, a particular taxpayer, the information may by furnished to the committee only while sitting in closed executive session unless such taxpayer otherwise consents in writing to such disclosure.

Description of Proposal

The proposal would allow any employee of the IRS to disclose tax return information directly to the Chairman of the Committee on Finance, the Chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means or the Chief of Staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation provided: (1) such disclosure is for the purpose of disclosing an incident of employee or taxpayer abuse and (2) the chairman of the committee to which the information will be disclosed gives prior approval for the disclosure in writing.

Effective Date

The proposal would be effective on the date of enactment.