OFFICIALS LEGISLATION INTEREST GROUPS PUBLIC STATEMENTS COMMITTEES VETOES

Taxpayer First Act

Floor Speech

Date: April 18, 2018
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Taxes

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Mr. YOUNG of Iowa. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleagues Ms. Jenkins and Mr. Lewis, and Chairman Brady and Ranking Member Neal, for working on such a commonsense bill that is very bipartisan, of course.

We expect to see that kind of support on the floor as well as that of the committee.

I rise in support of this great bill, H.R. 5444, the Taxpayer First Act. My bill--and I thank the committee--H.R. 5386, the IRS Fair Appeals Saving Taxpayers Act, or IRS FAST Act, was included in the final text of the underlying bill. So this bill, in particular, will help hardworking taxpayers navigate the IRS maze by requiring the IRS to turn over all nonprivileged documents to an individual or business if the taxpayer appeals the IRS' determination decision.

Taxpayers are finally being given an equal playing field. Under current law, the IRS will only turn over a taxpayer's documents through a Freedom of Information Act, or FOIA request, a process which most taxpayers don't know even exists. It takes a long time and is difficult to navigate. In a court of law, everyone has the right to see the evidence that will be used against them, and the IRS is not above the law and should not be able to play games with taxpayers.

Mr. Speaker, it shouldn't take a FOIA, a Freedom of Information Act, request to see what evidence the IRS is going to use against you. The IRS FAST Act, which is within H.R. 5444, will require the IRS to provide taxpayers with their case file prior to any review of their dispute with the IRS.

It is common sense and the taxpayers have a victory here. Allowing taxpayers this opportunity is an important step toward bringing accountability and transparency to the IRS. It will improve the experience for taxpayers when navigating the IRS appeals process, saving them time and money.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to see my bill included in the final legislation, H.R. 5444, the Taxpayer First Act, and I thank my colleagues for their leadership.

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