More IRS reform may be on the way

By Tom Fontaine
Herald Staff Writer

Until a couple of years ago the Internal Revenue Service had skirted reform legislation for decades. Then, in 1998, the IRS Restructuring Bill began a new focus on taxpayer needs and a range of IRS abuses, U.S. Rep. Phil English said.

English talked Monday afternoon at the Sharon City Building about legislation he hopes will “follow up” on that bill.

“The IRS has the reputation of being an ogre when it comes to collecting taxes,” English said. “It’s time we put a stop to practices that leave taxpayers feeling victimized.”

The Taxpayer Bill of Rights 2000, passed last week by the House Ways and Means Committee, is “designed to protect taxpayer privacy while leveling the playing field between the (IRS) and the taxpayer,” English said.

English, a Ways and Means committee member, added that the bill would restore taxpayer confidence by putting new reigns on the IRS.

Of about 20 small reforms, English said the bill would safeguard the privacy of tax records. Web sites where states keep tax information would be combed annually to ward off hackers and illegal disclosures, English said.

The bill also would repeal the penalty against those who pay taxes late, and instead would tack on interest charges and encourage payment programs; and prohibit the IRS from taxing interest it pays to taxpayers.

The bill also would shift more responsibility from the taxpayer to the IRS when it comes to undelivered refunds. “If the IRS does not receive their money they do everything they can to track taxpayers down and collect what is owed to them. The same should hold true for the IRS (if it owes taxpayers money),” English said.

The bill would give the IRS the power to use resources such as the Internet to do so. English said the bill also takes “small steps” to simplify the complicated tax system. “The current system is too difficult to understand,” English added.

English also noted that his tax alternative, Simplified USA Tax, will be introduced Wednesday at Ways and Means Committee hearings. English called his three-rate tax system “75 percent simpler” than the current code.

English said the taxpayer bill should go to the House floor next week for a vote.

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