Charles L. Kolbe has been selected by the administration for service on the IRS Oversight Board. He was recommended for the appointment by Grassley, who was instrumental in the creation of this independent board as part of the package of reforms passed by Congress last year to dramatically restructure the federal tax-collecting agency.
"Chuck Kolbe is an expert on the needs and concerns of small businesses, and his perspective will be a tremendous asset to this board," Grassley said. "He has a proven ability to negotiate different viewpoints and develop solutions, and he understands management, hard work and dedication."
Kolbe is currently chairman of the board of Red Oak Hereford Farms, owner of Kolbe Cattle Company and partner of the Midland Cattle Company, a cattle brokerage business. Kolbe is a member of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association Board of Directors. He was president of the Iowa Cattlemen's Association in 1997. He has chaired the Iowa Beef Industry Council and served on the Board of Directors of the National Livestock and Meat Board. In addition, Kolbe was owner and served on the Board of Directors of Everly State Bank for 14 years. He was a cattle industry representative on Gov. Terry Branstad's trade missions to Japan, Korea and China in 1992 and 1996. Kolbe lives in Des Moines. His family farm is in Sac County.
Grassley said that effective oversight is essential to making sure the IRS reforms enacted last year take hold. "The IRS should be held to the same high standards it demands from taxpayers. The goal of the restructuring effort is fair treatment and quality service for taxpayers," he said.
Grassley was an active member of the National Commission on Restructuring the IRS, which identified IRS shortcomings and developed reform initiatives in 1996 and 1997. The work of that commission included a field hearing in Des Moines.
Grassley and Sen. Bob Kerrey of Nebraska subsequently introduced legislation to overhaul the IRS. Their bill was the basis for the final make-over approved by Congress and signed by the President in 1998. Grassley also authored the first-ever taxpayer bill of rights in the 1980s, and the sequels that were approved during the last decade.