[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 15 (Wednesday, February 25, 1998)]
[House]
[Page H582]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       TAXPAYER ABUSE BY THE IRS

  (Mr. SHIMKUS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. SHIMKUS. Madam Speaker, I come to the House floor today to tell 
my colleagues of yet another example of taxpayer abuse by the Internal 
Revenue Service. A constituent of mine who requested that his name not 
be used has recently contacted me regarding his recent IRS audit. This 
hardworking family man was recently forced to take a day off of work 
and pay his CPA $1,100 for his representation and defense. The 
gentleman's crime, you might ask? He was a little late in filing his 
tax return and accidentally incorrectly reported his daughter's Social 
Security number. After the audit the IRS declared the whole incident a 
mistake.
  I can understand why these mistakes would set off bells and whistles 
at the IRS, but what I cannot understand is why a taxpayer would have 
to lose work time, wages, and pay a CPA to fix such a simple problem.
  Madam Speaker, I am proud to have voted for the IRS restructuring 
bill last fall, but I am even more excited about our attempts to rid 
the American people of this terrible Tax Code. The time is right to 
reform our Tax Code.

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