Lewis-Rangel Taxpayer Assistance Passes House

Press Release

Lewis-Rangel Taxpayer Assistance Passes House

Today, Oversight Subcommittee Chairman John Lewis (D-GA) and House Ways and Means Chairman Charlie Rangel (D-NY) ushered passage of the Taxpayer Simplification Assistance Act. The bill modernizes Internal Revenue Service functions to make filing taxes simpler, improves taxpayer protection, and restores fairness to aspects of the tax code.

Hearings called by Rep. Lewis revealed that thousands of elderly, disabled, and low-income citizens are targeted to purchase high-interest refund anticipation loans, and others have been harassed by private tax debt collection agencies contracted by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). This bill corrects these and other problems, making it easier and simpler for citizens to file their taxes. Chairman Lewis managed the floor debate on the legislation and last week chaired the Ways and Means markup.

"The collection of taxes is a public service and a part of the public trust.," said Rep. Lewis. "The success of our tax system is dependent upon the goodwill and respect of the American people, and the people are due goodwill and respect from their government in return. Private tax collection services have violated the public trust. During the hearings, I discovered that taxpayers have been targeted and harassed mercilessly by private tax collection agencies. One elderly couple was called 150 times in 30 days. The poorest and most vulnerable citizens in our society are targeted. They are soldiers serving in Iraq, elderly residents of nursing homes, non-English speaking taxpayers, and people in disaster stricken areas.

"The integrity of our government is on the line. As representatives of the people, we should not tolerate programs that violate the most central values of public service. Plus, the IRS Commissioner and its experts have assured us they have the tools in place to do this job, and they can perform this function much more effectively and efficiently, if given the resources. When you sum up the violations to the public trust, the extreme aggressiveness of these agencies, and the opportunity to save taxpayers money, all the factors seem to point to repeal. It was the right thing to do, the just thing to do, and the most cost effective thing to do."

The provisions included in H.R. 5719 would:

- Repeal the IRS's authority to use private debt collection companies to collect Federal taxes.
- Protect low-income taxpayers by prohibiting IRS debt indicators for predatory refund anticipation loans, allowing IRS employees to refer taxpayers to qualified low-income taxpayer clinics, and authorizing funding for Volunteer Income Tax Assistance ("VITA") programs.
- Require the IRS to notify taxpayers if it suspects theft of a taxpayer`s identity.
- Prohibit the misuse of Department of the Treasury names and symbols in misleading websites and "phishing" schemes.
- Eliminate the special requirements for individuals to keep detailed records of calls made on employer-provided cell phones.
- Delay for one year the imposition of a three-percent withholding requirement on government payments for goods and services made after December 31, 2010.
- Stops federal contractors from using foreign subsidiaries to evade Social Security and other employment taxes.
- Make the administrators of state and local government programs liable for paying the employment taxes on amounts paid by government programs to in-home care workers provided to elderly and disabled persons.

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