Legislative Recommendations
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Case and Systemic Most Litigated Legislative Most Serious Appendices Advocacy Issues Recommendations Problems Introduction Introduction Legislative Recommendations Section 7803(c)(2)(B)(ii)(VIII) of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) requires the National Taxpayer Advocate to include in her Annual Report to Congress, among other things, legislative recommendations to resolve problems encountered by taxpayers. The chart immediately following this Introduction summarizes congressional action on legislative recommendations the National Taxpayer Advocate proposed in her 2001 through 2007 Annual Reports to Congress.1 The Office of the Taxpayer Advocate places a high priority on working with the tax-writing committees and other interested parties to try to resolve problems encountered by taxpayers. In addition to submitting legislative proposals in each Annual Report, the National Taxpayer Advocate meets regularly with Members of Congress and their staffs and testifies at hearings on the problems faced by taxpayers to ensure that a taxpayer perspective receives due congressional consideration. The follow- ing discussion details recent legislation incorporating the National Taxpayer Advocate’s proposals. On October 3, 2008, the President signed into law the Energy Improvement and Extension Act of 2008. The Act contains a significant proposal initially recommended by the National Taxpayer Advocate in her 2005 Annual Report to Congress. To assist taxpayers who sell stocks or mutual funds in correctly reporting gain or loss on their returns, the Act will require brokers to keep track of the investor’s adjusted basis, to transfer adjusted basis information to a successor broker, and to report adjusted basis information to the taxpayer and the IRS (along with the amount of proceeds generated by the sale and whether the resulting gain or loss is long-term or short-term).2 This provision will address the challenge facing taxpayers who hold stocks or mutual funds for many years and lose track of their original or adjusted basis. It will also enable to the IRS to identify situations in which taxpayers deliberately overstate their basis to reduce or avoid tax. The legislation also addressed some of the National Taxpayer Advocate’s short-term concerns regarding the expanding application of the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT). Specifically, the bill increases the AMT exemption amounts and allows personal credits to be used against the AMT.3 In addition, the legislation included relief for taxpayers facing outstanding AMT liabilities from exercising incentive stock options (ISOs). The National Taxpayer Advocate has previously urged Congress to pass legislation to repeal or limit the scope of the AMT.4 1 An electronic version of the chart is available on the Taxpayer Advocate Service website at http://www.irs.gov/advocate. 2 Pub. L. No. 110-343, § 403, 122 Stat. 3765, 3854-60 (2008); National Taxpayer Advocate 2005 Annual Report to Congress 433-41. 3 Tax Extenders and Alternative Minimum Tax Relief Act of 2008, Pub. L. No. 110-343, §§ 101-103, 122 Stat. 3861, 3863 (2008). 4 National Taxpayer Advocate 2004 Annual Report to Congress 383-85; National Taxpayer Advocate 2001 Annual Report to Congress 82-100; National Taxpayer Advocate FY 2009 Objectives Report to Congress xxxiii-xxxix. Taxpayer Advocate Service — 2008 Annual Report to Congress — Volume One 337 Most Serious Legislative Most Litigated Case and Systemic Appendices Problems Recommendations Issues Advocacy Introduction A number of legislative proposals made by the National Taxpayer Advocate in previous annual reports were included in H.R. 5716, the Taxpayer Bill of Rights Act of 2008, which was referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means in April 2008.5 Specifically, H.R. 5716 included the following recommendations: Taxpayer Bill of Rights. Section 2 of the bill would require the Secretary of the Treasury to publish a summary statement of taxpayer rights and obligations. The National Taxpayer Advocate made a substantially similar proposal in her 2007 Annual Report.6 Grant Program for Return Preparation. Based on a 2002 proposal of the National Taxpayer Advocate, § 3 of the bill would authorize the Secretary of the Treasury to make grants to provide matching funds for the development, expansion, or continua- tion of qualified return preparation clinics.7 Regulation of Return Preparers. Section 4 of the bill would authorize the Secretary of the Treasury to promulgate regulations establishing a system to regulate compen- sated unenrolled return preparers. Preparers would be required to take an initial exam and renew eligibility every three years, at which point they would be required to demonstrate completion of continuing education requirements. This bill was modeled on a proposal initially recommended in the National Taxpayer Advocate’s 2002 Annual Report to Congress.8 Increased Preparer Penalties. Section 6 of the bill would increase preparer penalties in IRC § 6695 (a) through (c) from $50 to $1,000. The National Taxpayer Advocate recommended to raise these penalties as well as others.9 A separate bill, H.R. 5719, the Taxpayer Assistance and Simplification Act of 2008, passed the House and was referred to the Senate Committee on Finance.10 The bill included the following recommendations of the National Taxpayer Advocate: Home-Based Service Workers. Section 5 of the bill is based on recommendations by the Taxpayer Advocate. In both the 2001 and 2007 Annual Reports, the National Taxpayer Advocate proposed that Congress clarify that home-based workers are employees rather than independent contractors.11 5 H.R. 5716, 110th Cong. (2008). 6 National Taxpayer Advocate 2007 Annual Report to Congress 478-89. 7 National Taxpayer Advocate 2002 Annual Report to Congress vii-viii. 8 National Taxpayer Advocate 2002 Annual Report to Congress 216-30; see also National Taxpayer Advocate 2006 Annual Report to Congress 197-221; National Taxpayer Advocate 2004 Annual Report to Congress 67-88; National Taxpayer Advocate 2003 Annual Report to Congress 270-301. 9 National Taxpayer Advocate 2003 Annual Report to Congress 270-301. 10 H.R. 5719, 110th Cong. (2008). 11 National Taxpayer Advocate 2001 Annual Report to Congress 195-201; National Taxpayer Advocate 2007 Annual Report to Congress 556-57. 338 Section Two — Legislative Recommendations Case and Systemic Most Litigated Legislative Most Serious Appendices Advocacy Issues Recommendations Problems Introduction Legislative Recommendations Referrals to Low Income Taxpayer Clinics (LITCs). Section 6 of the bill is based on the National Taxpayer Advocate’s 2007 recommendation to amend IRC § 7526(c) to permit IRS employees to refer taxpayers to specific LITCs.12 Return of Levy or Sale Proceeds. Section 11 of the bill would extend the period of time within which a third party can request a return of levied funds or proceeds from the sale of levied property under IRC § 6343. It also would extend the time to return levied funds or sale proceeds. The National Taxpayer Advocate made a similar pro- posal in 2001.13 Reinstatement of Retirement Accounts. Section 12 of the bill is based on a 2001 recommendation of the National Taxpayer Advocate.14 The bill would amend the IRC to allow contributions to individual retirement accounts and other qualified plans from the funds returned to the taxpayer or third parties under IRC § 6343. Private Debt Collection. The National Taxpayer Advocate recommended in her 2006 Annual Report to Congress that Congress repeal the IRS’s authority to enter into private debt collection (PDC) contracts.15 Section 14 of H.R. 5719 would repeal that authority. Finally, S. 2861, a bill introduced in the Senate and referred to the Committee on Finance, would prohibit any person from charging a fee for the electronic filing of federal tax returns. This provision is based on a recommendation made by the National Taxpayer Advocate in 2004.16 We continue to advocate for the proposals we have made previously. In this report, we present 17 Legislative Recommendations, the first ten of which are designed to simplify the tax laws. Legislative Recommendations Repeal the AMT for individuals. Few people think of having children or living in a high- tax state as a tax-avoidance maneuver, but under the unique logic of the AMT, that is es- sentially how those actions are treated. The AMT effectively requires taxpayers to compute their taxes twice – once under the regular rules and again under the AMT rules – and then to pay the higher of the two amounts. The regular tax rules allow taxpayers to claim tax deductions for each dependent (recognizing the costs of maintaining a household and rais- ing a family) and for taxes paid to state and local governments (reducing “double taxation” at the federal and state levels), but the AMT rules disallow those deductions. It is estimated that 77 percent of all additional income subject to tax under the AMT is attributable to the 12 National Taxpayer Advocate 2007 Annual Report to Congress 551-53. 13 National Taxpayer Advocate 2001 Annual Report to Congress 202-14. 14 Id. 15 National Taxpayer Advocate 2006 Annual Report to Congress 458-62. 16 National Taxpayer Advocate 2004 Annual Report to Congress 471-77; S. 2861, 110th Cong. (2008). Taxpayer Advocate Service — 2008 Annual Report to Congress — Volume One 339 Most Serious Legislative Most Litigated Case and Systemic Appendices Problems Recommendations Issues Advocacy Introduction disallowance of deductions for dependents and state and local tax payments. The AMT