28 THE QUEENS COURIER • JULY 26, 2018 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Bipartisan Bill Would Overhaul IRS for First Time Since 1998
BY JOHN SAVIGNANO, CPA
Federal legislators have proposed a major
overhaul of the IRS, the first such reform
since 1998, which is intended to modernize
the agency and emphasize the service
aspect of it’s mission. Backed by both
Democratic and Republican members of
the House Ways and Means Committee,
the legislation is organized into nine divisions,
covering a wide variety of topics
ranging from information technology to
taxpayer services to enforcement policies.
The bill passed the House by and overwhelming
majority in April, but it has yet
to be introduced in the Senate.
One of the major provisions in the proposed
overhaul is the creation of a new
IRS Independent Office of Appeals. This
office would be led by a chief of appeals
who would report directly to the IRS
administrator. (The bill would change
the title of the IRS’s leader from “commissioner”
to “administrator”, as a way
to emphasize that the primary responsibility
of this person is to administer the
tax code.)
While the IRS already has an independent
appeals process, the bill aims to make
it more widely accessible. It the IRS does
not grant a referral to the Independent
Office of Appeals, then the taxpayer must
be provided with a precise and detailed
reason why and be given instructions as
to how to protest the decision.
Further those taking part in the appeals
process would be provided with access to
non-privileged portions of their case file
relevant to the dispute within 10 days of
a conference with the Independent Office
of Appeals. In contrast, however, current
law requires a Freedom of Information
Act request in order for this information
to be released.
As a way to save money, the IRS
changed its appeals policy in 2016 so that
an in-person appeals conference would
be granted only if the appeals team manager
deemed it appropriate. Prior policy
required the appeals office to automatically
transfer cases from the campus to
the field whenever taxpayers requested
meetings face to face. Campus cases-also
known as correspondence cases-are generally
smaller cases; they comprise 75 percent
to 80 percent of individual taxpayer
appeals. Last year, the IRS changed policy
again, providing that taxpayers that
field cases could once again request a
face-to-face meeting, but not those with
campus cases.
Another major focus of the bill is identity
theft and cybersecurity. It would formally
codify the already-existing public-private
partnership represented by the IRS
Security Summit; allow for limited sharing
of tax return information with state-level
and private-sector partners as part of
an information-sharing and analysis center;
establish a single point of contact
within the IRS for identity theft victims;
allow anyone to get an identity protection
personal identification number (IP PIN),
which before was available only to at-risk
taxpayers); and prohibit the IRS from providing
taxpayer information to any outside
contractor, unless the contractor has adequate
privacy safeguards in place.
The IRS will also be required to develop,
by 2023, robust and secure online
accounts for taxpayers and preparers.
These services are intended to supplement,
not replace existing IRS taxpayer
services.
Among other things, the proposal
would require the IRS to develop a
comprehensive customer service strategy
within a year after enactment, addressing
how it intends to provide taxpayer assistance
and establish benchmarks and metrics
to gauge its success.
According to the proposal, the IRS
would also be required to develop and
implement an information technology
strategic plan that accounts for the service’s
long-term IT needs. This strategic
plan would be overseen by the IRS chief
information officer, a position that this
bill formally codifies as part of the service’s
structure.
In addition, the bill would curtail the
IRS’s ability to seize property, requiring
that the agency show probable cause
when seizing funds that appear to have
been structured for money-laundering
purposes.
John Savignano is a partner with
Savignano Accountants & Advisors located
at 47-46 Vernon Blvd., Second Floor, in
Long Island City. If you have any questions
or require additional information, please
call John at 718-707-0955.
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Co-Author of the
best selling book
“Breaking the Tax Code”
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Salvatore P. Candela, EA, ATA, ABA
Enrolled Agent - Tax Advisor
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