Grassley Wins Approval for Amendments to IRS Reform Legislation


Scott Stanzel

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? Sen. Chuck Grassley won passage of three amendments to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Restructuring and Reform Act, currently under consideration by the U.S. Senate.

The Grassley amendments would strengthen taxpayer rights and streamline tax reporting for Iowa businesses. The three amendments are as follows:

  • Placement of an attorney in the National Taxpayer Advocate's office. The taxpayer advocate is independent from the IRS and charged with watching out for taxpayer rights. Grassley said having a lawyer in the office would give the advocate access to immediate legal advice on behalf of taxpayers and enhance the independence of the taxpayer advocate by preventing them from having to go to the IRS Office of the Chief Counsel for legal opinions.
  • Modification of the IRS code to allow a previously-created Iowa pilot program to move forward. The program is designed to help simplify tax reporting requirements for Iowa businesses. The experimental program is also being tested in Montana.
  • Authorization for state governments to collect an individual's overdue state tax liability from federal government refunds, just as the federal government is able to

collect overdue federal taxes from individual state tax refunds. Grassley also successfully fought back two legislative efforts to remove or undermine the presence of a labor leader on the independent IRS Oversight Board, which would be created by the proposal under consideration. Grassley said having labor representation on the oversight board is crucial to having a well-rounded and representative panel. Grassley is co-managing Senate consideration of this reform bill. It is the most comprehensive overhaul of the IRS in 45 years.

The drive to reform the IRS began two years ago when Grassley was one of four members of Congress to serve on the National Commission on Restructuring the IRS. This bipartisan panel conducted a year-long audit of the IRS. Last summer, Grassley and the commission chairman, Sen. Bob Kerrey of Nebraska, introduced an IRS reform bill based on their findings. Their proposal was the foundation for the restructuring bill currently before the Senate.

Grassley is a member of the Senate subcommittee charged with IRS oversight. He is a co- author of the 1988 Taxpayer Bill of Rights, and its 1996 sequel ? known as the Taxpayer Bill of Rights II or T2. This year, Grassley presented a new round of taxpayer rights in his Taxpayer Bill of Rights III. Many of the Grassley provisions were included in the current IRS Reform and Restructuring Act.