[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 53 (Thursday, April 15, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E559]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        INTRODUCTION OF THE TAXPAYER BILL OF RIGHTS ACT OF 2010

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                          HON. XAVIER BECERRA

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 15, 2010

  Mr. BECERRA. Madam Speaker, today I am proud to introduce the 
Taxpayer Bill of Rights Act of 2010, which clarifies taxpayer rights 
and obligations, ensures taxpayers have access to competent and 
affordable tax assistance, and improves taxpayer services. Senator Jeff 
Bingaman (NM), a dedicated advocate for taxpayer rights, is introducing 
companion legislation in the Senate. Many of these provisions are 
supported by the National Taxpayer Advocate, Nina Olson, who has long 
been a champion of improving taxpayer services and tax administration.
  Today, April 15th, millions of taxpayers will file their returns with 
the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). As the IRS processes these returns, 
issues of tax administration will come to the forefront. These problems 
will range from taxpayers not knowing their legal rights, to taxpayers 
enlisting unscrupulous or poorly-trained preparers to help them 
complete one of their most important financial transactions of the 
year. This legislation aims to help ensure taxpayers do not find 
themselves in these unnecessary situations.
  First, this legislation would require Treasury to publish an easy-to-
understand Taxpayer Bill of Rights that would enumerate all taxpayers' 
rights and obligations, as well as their location in the tax code. 
Currently, these rights and obligations are scattered throughout the 
tax code and Internal Revenue Manual, making them neither accessible 
nor written in plain language that most taxpayers can understand.
  Second, the legislation improves tax preparer services and advice 
available to moderate income taxpayers by supporting a grant program 
for free income tax assistance services, and by allowing IRS referrals 
to Low-Income Taxpayer Clinics, which represent modest income taxpayers 
in their disputes with the IRS. In addition, this legislation builds 
upon guidance from the National Taxpayer Advocate, first issued in 
2002, to implement a system of oversight for unenrolled tax preparers 
through examination and continuing education requirements. It also 
provides specific guidance to the IRS as it implements its new 
initiative to increase oversight over these tax preparers. This 
provision is essential to improving tax compliance at a time when over 
half of Americans use a paid preparer to complete their returns.
  Finally, this bill would improve services for taxpayers. One 
important new provision included in this bill provides greater 
protections for taxpayers when they are faced with a Notice of a 
Federal Tax Lien filing (NFTL). Filing of an NFTL can result in 
significant, long-term hardship to a taxpayer, and may adversely affect 
the taxpayer's credit, thus impairing his or her ability to conduct 
financial transactions or secure employment. The Taxpayer Bill of 
Rights Act requires the IRS to make individualized determinations 
before the filing of an NFTL, and also requires consideration of 
hardship factors and a taxpayer's history of compliance before these 
determinations are made.
  Many of the problems identified in this bill have gone unaddressed 
for too long, causing confusion and undue hardship for taxpayers across 
the country. I encourage all of my colleagues to support these common 
sense provisions to promote taxpayer rights and services for all 
Americans on this Tax Day.

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