Congressional Record, Volume 161 Issue 54 (Wednesday, April 15, 2015)

[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 54 (Wednesday, April 15, 2015)]
[House]
[Pages H2230-H2232]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

TAXPAYER BILL OF RIGHTS ACT OF 2015

Mr. RYAN of Wisconsin. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and
pass the bill (H.R. 1058) to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to
clarify that a duty of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue is to
ensure that Internal Revenue Service employees are familiar with and
act in accord with certain taxpayer rights, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:

H.R. 1058

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Taxpayer Bill of Rights Act
of 2015''.

SEC. 2. DUTY TO ENSURE THAT IRS EMPLOYEES ARE FAMILIAR WITH
AND ACT IN ACCORD WITH CERTAIN TAXPAYER RIGHTS.

(a) In General.--Section 7803(a) of the Internal Revenue
Code of 1986 is amended by redesignating paragraph (3) as
paragraph (4) and by inserting after paragraph (2) the
following new paragraph:
``(3) Execution of duties in accord with taxpayer rights.--
In discharging his duties, the Commissioner shall ensure that
employees of the Internal Revenue Service are familiar with
and act in accord with taxpayer rights as afforded by other
provisions of this title, including--
``(A) the right to be informed,
``(B) the right to quality service,
``(C) the right to pay no more than the correct amount of
tax,
``(D) the right to challenge the position of the Internal
Revenue Service and be heard,
``(E) the right to appeal a decision of the Internal
Revenue Service in an independent forum,
``(F) the right to finality,
``(G) the right to privacy,
``(H) the right to confidentiality,
``(I) the right to retain representation, and
``(J) the right to a fair and just tax system.''.
(b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section
shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Wisconsin (Mr. Ryan) and the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Lewis) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Wisconsin.

General Leave

Mr. RYAN of Wisconsin. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all
Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their
remarks and to include extraneous material on H.R. 1058, currently
under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Wisconsin?
There was no objection.
Mr. RYAN of Wisconsin. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, today is tax day. We are bringing to the floor today a
number of bills aimed at one thing, recognizing the fact that the IRS
works for the taxpayer, not the other way around. It is their job in
the Internal Revenue Service to make paying your taxes as easy as
possible.
This marks the day that most Americans are sending their taxes in;
but just ask any of these Americans who probably went to the mailbox
today if it is getting any easier, ask them if the IRS is making it
easier for them to fill out their forms to do their civic duty. They
will tell you that it is clearly not how the IRS is working today.
We have learned a lot. We have conducted rigorous oversight, led by
Mr. Roskam here, into the Internal Revenue Service, into how they
operate. We have learned all too well that bureaucracies don't always
do what is efficient; they do what is convenient--at least what is
convenient for them.
What we are doing is telling the IRS that they are going to have to
clean up their act. We are saying that we think most of these bills are
common sense, and we are saying that it is pretty much simple, like
don't target people because of their political beliefs, don't tax
donations to tax-exempt groups, don't send taxpayer information to

[[Page H2231]]

your private email--simple stuff, things that citizens should
automatically expect from the Internal Revenue Service but have not
been getting lately.

{time} 1345

That is why we are bringing these bills to the floor. It is so that
we can put the taxpayer in front, so that we can put the taxpayer
first, so that we can realign the balance so that the Internal Revenue
Service, like any other government agency, works for the taxpayer and
not the other way around.
I want to make one more point.
All of this confusion, all of this unfairness, and all of this
frustration that we are sensing and that we see on tax day is because
our Tax Code is an absolute mess. It is way too complicated. It
punishes people for saving; it punishes people for investing; it
punishes people for working--all of the things that we need in order to
build a healthy economy. It is going in the wrong direction.
We need to make our Tax Code simpler. We need to make it fairer. We
need to make it easier for people to comply with. We need to make it
flatter. We need to make it more internationally competitive. We need
to make it so that it can help our economy heal and grow more jobs. We
think these bills are the right bills to put the taxpayers back in the
driver's seat, to reassert their rights.
I just want to say how proud I am of the members of our committee--of
Mr. Roskam, of Mr. Marchant, of Mr. Meehan, of Mr. Holding, of Mr.
Renacci, of Mr. Kelly--who all were involved in doing vigorous
oversight of this government agency, who found problems, and who have
acted on behalf of hard-working taxpayers to right these wrongs and to
make sure that they don't happen again.
With that, Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Roskam), the author of H.R. 1058, the
chairman of the Oversight Committee, the person who is in charge of our
investigation and who is a member of the Ways and Means Committee.
Mr. ROSKAM. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for yielding.
Mr. Speaker, it is a very sobering thing to get a letter from the
Internal Revenue Service and to not know what is inside. It is one
thing if you go to the mailbox, and it is one of those ones that is a
little bit colorful, and you say, Hey, that is a tax refund in there,
and isn't that a delightful piece of mail? Everybody is happy to see
that. Yet, when you get one of those other ones that is black and white
and has all of that sort of nefarious print--and you know the kind I
mean--it sends a chill through you.
Now, why does it send a chill through you? It sends a chill through
you based on sort of the past disposition of the Internal Revenue
Service. You get this feeling of: Is this an organization--is this an
entity?--which has unbelievable authority? Are they being fair? Are
they treating me, as a taxpayer, the way I ought to be treated?
The reason this becomes so important is that we have got a tax
compliance system in the United States 99 percent of which is
voluntary. It is a remarkable thing that 99 percent of American
taxpayers voluntarily pay their taxes, and yet they are paying taxes
into a system in which their confidence is shaken, and it is shaken
grievously. It is shaken so much that, on a bipartisan basis, Mr.
Speaker, the Ways and Means Committee reported out on a voice vote
these things on which Republicans and Democrats have come together.
They have said we know one thing: we know what impunity looks like when
we see it, and we see impunity has seeped into the culture at the
Internal Revenue Service, and on a bipartisan basis, we are going to do
something about it. I think this deeply resonates with the American
public.
H.R. 1058, the Taxpayer Bill of Rights Act of 2015, has received
input and support from Nina Olson of the National Taxpayer Advocate.
Mr. Speaker, let me read a couple of sentences that she said about
this.
She says: ``A Taxpayer Bill of Rights would provide taxpayers with
critical information to assist them in their dealings with the IRS,
provide the IRS with foundational principles to guide employees in
their dealings with taxpayers, and serve as a benchmark to help the IRS
leadership and Congress monitor the extent of the agency's compliance
with these rights.''
In just the height of gracious understatement, she says this: ``After
a difficult period for the IRS, a Taxpayer Bill of Rights has the
potential to restore taxpayers' trust in both the IRS and the tax
system.''
Mr. Speaker, here is what the Taxpayer Bill of Rights calls for.
These would then be enumerated rights the taxpayers would have, and
under this legislation, it would be the responsibility of the
Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service to make sure that these
would be in place and that employees would be familiar with these and
that the Internal Revenue Service would be acting in accordance with
them. It is a list. Let me read it. It is brief, and you are going to
love it:
The right to be informed; the right to quality service; the right to
pay no more tax than the correct amount of tax; the right to challenge
the position of the Internal Revenue Service and to be heard; the right
to appeal a decision of the Internal Revenue Service in an independent
forum; the right to finality; the right to privacy; the right to
confidentiality; the right to retain representation; and the right to a
fair and just tax system.
Mr. Speaker, we have a responsibility in Congress, and that is to
recognize our role in this whole enterprise. Clearly, what has happened
is the American public has delegated authority to us, their elected
representatives. We, in turn, and some of our predecessors, have
delegated that authority to the Internal Revenue Service. I would
argue--and, I think, on a bipartisan basis that argument is echoed--
that that authority has been abused.
All right. So then what is the remedy?
The remedy is Congress comes together, as reflecting the American
public, and it says, We are going to reclaim this. We are going to make
this right. There is a whole series of bills today that, I think, will
enjoy very, very strong support out of the House.
In closing, Mr. Speaker, I want to echo the theme that Chairman Ryan
articulated. He said that we are reminded today that the Internal
Revenue Service works for the public. The public does not work for the
Internal Revenue Service.
I think that today's debate and the focus with which we on a
bipartisan basis come to this is meant to do a couple of things. It is
meant to restore confidence in an agency whose confidence has been
undermined. It is meant to assert and assume a responsibility that we
in Congress have, and it is meant to restore the confidence of the
American people in the democratic process on an overall basis.
I thank the chairman for his leadership in bringing these bills
before the committee, and I urge the passage of H.R. 1058.
Mr. LEWIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I rise in support of H.R. 1058.
Today, this day, April 15, is the due date for Americans to file
their tax returns. On this day, it is important for the House to
consider a taxpayer bill of rights.
This legislation would ensure that Internal Revenue Service employees
are familiar with the rights guaranteed to taxpayers under the Internal
Revenue Code. These include the right to be informed, the right to be
heard, the right to privacy, the right to appeal, and the right to a
fair and just system.

Mr. Speaker, we must do all we can to protect taxpayers' rights. In
addition to passing this act, Congress must ensure that the agency has
the resources it needs to properly serve American taxpayers. This year,
American taxpayers finally felt the shock of the billion-dollar cuts to
the agency's budget. Taxpayers seeking assistance waited in lines for
hours. Few could reach a live person when they called the help
hotlines, and according to press reports--to written reports,
television, newspapers, and magazines--in New York, the Internal
Revenue Service office even ran out of paper to print extra tax forms
after taxpayers waited in long lines for hours. That is not right. That
is not fair. That is not just.
The Taxpayer Bill of Rights Act takes an important step in the right
direction. It is timely and it is just. I hope that we can come
together to make sure that our constituents are receiving the services
and the protections they deserve.

[[Page H2232]]

Again, I thank the gentleman from Illinois and my Republican
colleague--the chairman--and others for bringing this bill to the floor
today.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. RYAN of Wisconsin. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may
consume to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Roskam).
Mr. ROSKAM. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Speaker, I want to associate myself with the remarks of the
ranking member, which are that the American public has an expectation
that they are going to be treated with respect and with dignity. With
that, I urge the passage of H.R. 1058.
Mr. LEWIS. Mr. Speaker, in closing, I support H.R. 1058, the Taxpayer
Bill of Rights Act of 2015. On this tax day, we must do more for our
taxpayers. I urge all of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to
vote ``yes'' for H.R. 1058.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. RYAN of Wisconsin. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my
time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Ryan) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, H.R. 1058, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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