[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 152 (Tuesday, November 4, 1997)]
[House]
[Pages H9990-H9991]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         IRS IN NEED OF REFORM

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania [Mr. Fox] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. FOX of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I rise to address the House 
this evening on an issue which is really front and center for all the 
American people, and that is the issue of tax reform and the issue of 
reforming the IRS. We only have to look to Carol Ward in Colorado 
Springs, CO, to look to the centrality of this problem. Here we have a 
young lady who was questioning for her son the way the IRS handled his 
particular return. Here the agent felt that she was being a little bit 
defensive or being a little bit actually helpful and he thought overly 
helpful in asking questions to the IRS agent. Her thanks for being 
watchful as to her son had her business closed by the IRS, signs placed 
on it saying that

[[Page H9991]]

this business is closed, the IRS seized the assets, seized the bank 
accounts, put her out of business.
  What justification did we have for a Federal agency that is supposed 
to be there for the benefit of taxpayers, to fund Federal agencies, of 
course, supposed to be a voluntary payment. Again we have involuntary 
agents going after Americans in this case where there was no probable 
cause. This was a fishing expedition. This was an act of retribution 
against a taxpayer trying to protect the rights of her son.

                              {time}  2345

  She recently won in court a settlement on this matter, but if Carol 
Warden did not have attorneys and could not afford to go forward in 
this action, she would be like many others who were victims of the IRS 
whose businesses and personal assets were seized and who in fact felt 
the full awesome power, Mr. Speaker, of the IRS without fairness and 
without proper procedures.
  So it is for those reasons that many of us in the House, both sides 
of the aisle, Republican and Democrat, are working on legislative 
initiatives to change that.
  One of the issues I am introducing, Mr. Speaker, is the taxpayer bill 
of rights 3. This will require for the first time there will be no 
fishing expeditions by the IRS, no more quotas, as you have heard, from 
the Senate Finance Committee where they have to have so many cases 
where they bring investigations or fines and penalties against 
unwitting Americans who did nothing wrong. But the IRS for the first 
time under my legislation will be responsible for business and personal 
losses caused by the IRS actions, and, furthermore, the IRS will be 
responsible for the legal fees that are a part of this entire charade.
  Moreover, we change the burden of proof so it would not require that 
the IRS would assume that the commissioner is correct and the taxpayer 
is guilty.
  Furthermore, the bill calls for mediation service for those taxpayers 
that could not afford an attorney that there be a mediation service to 
settle the claims.
  And finally for those taxpayers who come forward with violations by 
the IRS that they would not be subject to a special audit because they 
came forward to report wrongdoing or problems with the IRS.
  We in Congress need to work together with Bill Archer, Congressman 
Portman, Congressman Largent and also Congressman Paxon on all relative 
bills which deal with the same topic, reforming IRS, making the agency 
more fair and making sure the Tax Code we have is changed by the year 
2000, one that may be flatter, fairer, not have special exemptions and 
make sure that working Americans have a fair shake from this system and 
that the agency that will succeed the IRS will be fair to all 
taxpayers.
  I appreciate this time to address the taxpayer bill of rights, and I 
look forward to the support of my colleagues on this important 
legislation.

                          ____________________