[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 30 (Wednesday, March 18, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E411]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        INTRODUCTION OF ``THE TAXPAYER PROTECTION ACT OF 1998''

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. WILLIAM J. COYNE

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 18, 1998

  Mr. COYNE. Mr. Speaker, along with my colleagues on the Ways and 
Means Committee, I am introducing legislation to provide taxpayers with 
additional safeguards in their dealings with the Internal Revenue 
Service.
  This bill is being introduced on a bipartisan basis and reflects the 
additional taxpayer safeguards proposed by the Administration in its 
Fiscal Year 1999 Budget.
  I am pleased that the Honorable Nancy Johnson, Chairman of the 
Committee on Ways and Means Subcommittee on Oversight, joins me, as the 
Oversight Subcommittee Ranking Member, in sponsoring this bill.
  The President's additional taxpayer protection proposals are intended 
to supplement the ``Taxpayer Bill of Rights 3'' provisions of the 
House-passed IRS Restructuring and Reform Act of 1997 (H.R. 2676) and 
should be enacted without further delay.
  Earlier this year, the Committee Democrats asked the Department of 
the Treasury to prepare legislation reflecting the Administration's 
series of additional taxpayer protection proposals. Congressman Cardin, 
Congressman Tanner, and Congresswoman Thurman joined me in further 
developing the proposals offered today. Our bipartisan bill is the 
result of this effort.
  I appreciate the Treasury Department and the President's commitment 
to insuring that the tax code provides appropriate protections for 
taxpayers in their efforts to comply with the Federal tax laws. We will 
continue to work with the Treasury Department to refine various 
provisions of the bill to insure proper application of these taxpayer 
protections.
  Also, I want to commend the Committee Republicans sponsoring this 
bill for their commitment to developing and supporting taxpayer 
protections on a bipartisan basis. The beneficiaries of this process 
are all of our constituents and taxpayers nationwide.
  Clearly the new taxpayer rights provisions provided for in this bill 
provided significant additional safeguards for taxpayers in their 
dealings with the IRS.
  In summary, the bill will prohibit collection actions in certain 
situations; require the IRS to provide installment agreements for the 
payments of tax; require high-level IRS management approval in certain 
lien, levy and seizure actions; increase the amounts and types of 
property exempt from levy; require the IRS to comply with Fair Debt 
Collection Practices Act rules; provide remedies to third parties with 
regard to erroneous liens and summonses; and, provide civil damages 
where the IRS has violated bankruptcy code protections.
  More specifically, the bill will:
  Prohibit IRS collection actions against a potentially ``innocent 
spouse,'' while the other spouse to the joint return is litigating the 
merits of the underlying tax liability in Tax Court;
  Prohibit IRS collection actions against taxpayers while they are 
negotiating or have pending an installment agreement or offer-in-
compromise with the IRS;
  Prohibit IRS collection actions against taxpayers where they have not 
received proper notice from the IRS and request a 60-day delay;
  Prohibit IRS collection actions against taxpayers when they are in 
court seeking refunds relating to employment taxes;
  Provide taxpayers with the right to pay taxes over time through 
installment agreements, in certain situations, such as where a taxpayer 
has a tax liability of less than $10,000.
  Require high-level IRS management approval of collection liens and 
levies on certain pensions, annuities and life insurance policies, 
liens and levies on property held by certain third parties or property 
not owned by the taxpayer, seizures and sales of perishable goods, and 
``jeopardy'' assessments and levies;
  Provide increased exemptions from levy for certain personal property 
purchases and for residential property subject to mechanic's liens;
  Require the IRS to comply with the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act 
provisions concerning hours of communication and prohibiting harassment 
and abuse tactics;
  Provide a remedy for third parties who claim that the IRS has filed 
an erroneous lien;
  Provide civil damages for IRS violations of bankruptcy code 
protections; and
  Provide procedures for taxpayers to quash all types of third party 
summonses.
  Since the Senate Finance Committee soon will be finalizing its 
amendments to the IRS Restructuring bill, I think that it is important 
that these additional taxpayer rights provisions be put forward, at 
this time, for timely action.
  Further, I believe that at the point a conference is scheduled on the 
House-passed bill it will be useful to the House conferees to have 
these provisions in legislative form, with the bipartisan support of 
the Committee and the House Membership.
  As the weeks and months pass, with no Senate action on the IRS 
Restructuring bill, our constituents continue to struggle unnecessarily 
with the IRS. We have all agreed that the IRS should be reformed and 
that the Taxpayer Bill of Rights 3 should be enacted into law. It is 
time to make the reforms of TBOR3 law, and to include the proposals we 
are introducing today.
  There is no reason to wait any longer. For those constituents of ours 
trying to resolve their tax cases with the IRS, time is of the essence.
  I urge that each Member of the House support this bill and join us in 
working toward timely enactment of these proposed reforms.

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