[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 151 (Thursday, November 18, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1969-E1970]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             INTRODUCING THE TARGETED TAX LIEN ACT OF 2010

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                         HON. ALCEE L. HASTINGS

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, November 18, 2010

  Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Madam Speaker, I rise today to introduce the 
Targeted Tax Lien Act of 2010. While a notice of a federal tax lien can 
be an effective tax collection tool, the automatic filing process 
currently utilized by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) too often 
allows for erroneous and unnecessary filings. A public filing of a 
notice of federal tax lien often does little to increase the likelihood 
of collecting the tax liability, yet can impact a taxpayer's credit and 
ability to obtain financing, find or retain a job, secure affordable 
housing or insurance and ultimately, the taxpayer's ability to pay the 
balance. This legislation will provide the IRS with the means to ensure 
that a notice of a federal tax lien is filed only when it would be in 
the best interest of both the IRS and taxpayer.
  The Targeted Tax Lien Act of 2010 ends the IRS's current one-size-
fits-all lien filing policies that, in the IRS Taxpayer Advocate's own 
words, ``circumvent the spirit of the law, fail to promote future tax 
compliance, and unnecessarily harm taxpayers.'' The bill requires an 
IRS supervisor to review and make an affirmative, specific finding on a 
case-by-case basis that a lien is warranted and not disproportionately 
harmful to the taxpayer. The bill provides a list of factors to 
consider, such as the amount due, the value of the property, a 
taxpayer's compliance history, and extenuating circumstances.
  Furthermore, the IRS's ability to collect tax liabilities will not 
diminish under these new policies. A recent IRS National Taxpayer 
Advocate study suggests that in most instances where the source of 
payment of a tax debt to the IRS is specified, more than 95 percent of 
all payments and more than 80 percent of all revenue collected did not 
result from a notice of lien filing and would have been collected even 
without the filing. Additionally, a separate analysis performed by the 
Advocate shows that only about five percent of all payment transactions 
and approximately twenty percent of the total dollars collected from 
these taxpayers are attributable to federal tax liens. These results 
suggest that the IRS's current use of liens may not be furthering 
revenue collection despite the impact liens have on taxpayers and their 
credit.

[[Page E1970]]

  Madam Speaker, the current automatic filing process can often result 
in the filing of a notice of federal tax lien when another collection 
technique would have been more appropriate and effective. It should 
come as no surprise that the taxpayers most often impacted by an 
erroneous notice of a lien filing are small businesses and middle class 
families. By making sure the IRS uses the tax collection method and 
strategy best suited to each particular taxpayer, the Targeted Tax Lien 
Act of 2010, not only helps buttress these bedrocks of our economy, but 
allows the IRS to avoid unnecessary expenses, ensuring it also can use 
its resources more efficiently.
  I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation and 
reaffirm the commitment of Congress to small businesses and the middle 
class.

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