Grassley said the 82-page report of the National Commission on Restructuring the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) reflects the completed work of the 17-member panel which was convened for one year to study possible changes and make specific recommendations. One of four members of Congress to serve on the Commission, Grassley said the panel conducted 15 public hearings, interviewed over 500 current and former IRS employees, gathered input from hundreds of taxpayers, and consulted with leading tax practitioners across the country. In May, the Commission held a field hearing and heard testimony in Des Moines.
A leading advocate in Congress for expanded taxpayer rights and greater accountability from the massive agencies of federal government, Grassley succeeded in ensuring the Commission report released today: 1) seeks better management, not more money for the IRS; 2) emphasizes improving the quality of work by IRS agents in order to better protect taxpayers from unwarranted and costly disputes from the IRS; 3) states that improving customer service must be a key performance measurement of management and line employees of the IRS; and, 4) requires that the IRS archive records of its own actions and respond in an expedited manner to media requests for information under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
"It is a real breakthrough that the Commission recognized that the answer to improving the IRS is better management, not more money," Grassley said. "The importance of this new attitude was expressed recently by an unlikely source. An individual from the Department of Treasury who was a staunch opponent of an effort I led two years ago to reduce funding for additional IRS agents said that the IRS didn't even begin to consider serious reforms until I won that particular battle. He said the IRS realized it had to change when Congress stopped throwing more money at its problems."
The report released today specifically recommends that funding for the IRS remain at the same level for the next three years "so that its leaders can undertake the proper planning to rebuild its foundation." Grassley said this recommendation sends a clear signal to the IRS bureaucracy that "business-as-usual must end."
Grassley also expressed satisfaction that today's report states that "the IRS should only initiate contact with a taxpayer if the agency is prepared to devote the resources necessary for a proper and timely resolution of the matter." Grassley said he will work to legislate reforms which help to ensure that significant efforts are made by the IRS to protect taxpayers from unnecessary disputes with the IRS before they occur, and to improve a taxpayer's ability to recover damages for wrongful actions by the agency.
Furthermore, Grassley emphasized that by improving the quality of the service provided to taxpayers, the IRS can avoid many problems which lead ultimately to a violation of individual taxpayer rights. "Customer service must be improved at every level: when taxpayers seek assistance, file, pay, endure audits, and respond to collection efforts," he said. "The performance of IRS management and employees must be judged by the quality of their work and service to customers. Believe it or not, this is not the case today."
Finally, Grassley won inclusion of ground breaking recommendations to improve IRS accountability to taxpayers. "Right now, the IRS does not keep accurate records of its operations, so it is impossible for taxpayers to hold the agency accountable for its actions. A lack of records also makes substantive oversight all but impossible and keeps Congress in the dark. What's more, the IRS has misused laws on the books intended to protect individual taxpayer information in order to hide its own mistakes and failure to act against fraud by unscrupulous taxpayers," Grassley said. "I've long advocated sunshine as the best disinfectant for government bureaucracies, so I will work to implement the recommendations that seek to remedy this situation, especially that the IRS be required to respond in a timely and useful manner to FOIA requests from the media."
Today's report states that this priority of Grassley's "should mirror the process established by the Department of Justice, which provides expedited processing for certain FOIA requests that promote public accountability, particularly when the information sought involves possible questions about the government's integrity which affect public confidence."
Following today's presentation, Grassley said he will introduce a legislative package which incorporates the recommended reforms in conjunction with Commission co-chairmen Sen. Bob Kerrey of Nebraska and Rep. Rob Portman of Ohio. Grassley and Kerrey serve on the Finance Committee. Portman serves on the Ways and Means Committee. "Based on my discussions with leaders in the House and Senate, I am confident that the legislation implementing the Commission recommendations will be given top priority. We should be able to send a bill to the White House for the President's signature this fall," Grassley said.
While releasing today's report, Grassley extended special thanks to the seven individuals who work in the private sector and served on the Commission during the last year. "Their perspective helped to ensure recommendations that reflect common sense and understanding of real world realities," he said. In addition to these participants and the members of Congress, Commissioners included individuals from the executive branch of federal government and various advocacy groups. Grassley joined the co-chairmen and other Commissioners to present the final report -- A Vision for a New IRS -- to Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich and Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott during a mid-day news conference on Capitol Hill.