[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 156 (Saturday, November 8, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H10352]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                               IRS REFORM

  (Mrs. KELLY asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Mrs. KELLY. Mr. Speaker, for years citizens have been complaining 
about the IRS. Honest citizens faced with an audit, a problem, 
confusing changes in the Tax Code and bewildering instructions about 
their tax return have cried out for reform to their representatives in 
Washington, radio talk show hosts and newspapers across the country. 
But nothing seems to change. To add insult to injury, the IRS responds 
to all these complaints by defending its actions, assuring citizens 
everywhere that the IRS is improving, the IRS is reforming itself and 
honest taxpayers have nothing to fear from an audit. If this is not the 
perfect example of an arrogant bureaucracy that is out of touch, I 
would like to see a better one. Arrogant, out of touch and 
unaccountable, these are the hallmarks of a Government that abuses its 
power, a Government which makes ordinary citizens feel powerless and 
fearful.
  Mr. Speaker, the IRS must change big time, not cosmetic changes that 
mean business as usual but a top-to-bottom overhaul that does not put 
honest taxpayers in the same boat as tax cheats. The IRS needs to give 
taxpayers the respect they deserve.

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