The National Taxpayers Union Foundation (NTUF) launched its Taxpayers for IRS Transformation (Taxpayers FIRST) project in response to Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, which included just under $80 billion in additional funding for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Taxpayers FIRST has released its fourth report entitled Shaping a Future of Fairness: Proposals to Safeguard and Strengthen Taxpayer Rights focusing on the rights of taxpayers, and making impactful recommendations.
The Taxpayers FIRST project consists of an advisory board made up of former IRS officials, academics, practitioners, accountants, and policy experts with a shared goal of ensuring the taxpayer dollars entrusted to the IRS help make it more efficient, effective, and accountable.
The report was authored by Bryan Hickman, Policy Fellow, and Pete Sepp, President of the National Taxpayers Union Foundation.
The report makes several important and actionable recommendations that will better protect the rights of the American taxpayer including:
Elevate the Importance of Taxpayer Rights in Federal Law and in IRS Publications, Website, and Physical Locations;
Revise IRS Notices to Provide Explanations of Taxpayer Rights;
Provide Accountability in the Penalty Process;
Ensure the Independence of the Office of Appeals;
Strengthen the Taxpayer Advocate’s Flexibility.
“Moving forward, both Congress and the IRS should make taxpayer rights a central focus in all aspects of tax administration. That means doing more than making informal and aspirational statements of policy and adopting substantive reforms to ensure taxpayers are well-informed and have ample opportunities to review, challenge, and appeal IRS decisions in appropriate venues with due process,” the report states. “With that as their focus, policymakers can take real steps to ensure taxpayer protections are not an afterthought but a cornerstone of U.S. tax policy.”
With the significant funds given to the IRS, it is essential that the necessary steps are taken to update and improve IRS tax administration and enforcement to fully endues and expand the rights of all taxpayers.
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