Chapter 80, Subchapter A, Section 7803, Subsection (c) · 26 U.S.C. Chapter 80

Contents

(c)

(1)

(A)There is established in the Internal Revenue Service an office to be known as the “Office of the Taxpayer Advocate”.

(B)

(i)The Office of the Taxpayer Advocate shall be under the supervision and direction of an official to be known as the “National Taxpayer Advocate”. The National Taxpayer Advocate shall report directly to the Commissioner of Internal Revenue and shall be entitled to compensation at the same rate as the highest rate of basic pay established for the Senior Executive Service under section 5382 of title 5, United States Code.

(ii)The National Taxpayer Advocate shall be appointed by the Secretary of the Treasury after consultation with the Commissioner of Internal Revenue and the Oversight Board and without regard to the provisions of title 5, United States Code, relating to appointments in the competitive service or the Senior Executive Service.

(iii)An individual appointed under clause (ii) shall have—

(I)a background in customer service as well as tax law; and

(II)experience in representing individual taxpayers.

(iv)An individual may be appointed as the National Taxpayer Advocate only if such individual was not an officer or employee of the Internal Revenue Service during the 2-year period ending with such appointment and such individual agrees not to accept any employment with the Internal Revenue Service for at least 5 years after ceasing to be the National Taxpayer Advocate. Service as an officer or employee of the Office of the Taxpayer Advocate shall not be taken into account in applying this clause.

(2)

(A)It shall be the function of the Office of the Taxpayer Advocate to—

(i)assist taxpayers in resolving problems with the Internal Revenue Service;

(ii)identify areas in which taxpayers have problems in dealings with the Internal Revenue Service;

(iii)to the extent possible, propose changes in the administrative practices of the Internal Revenue Service to mitigate problems identified under clause (ii); and

(iv)identify potential legislative changes which may be appropriate to mitigate such problems.

(B)

(i)Not later than June 30 of each calendar year, the National Taxpayer Advocate shall report to the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Finance of the Senate on the objectives of the Office of the Taxpayer Advocate for the fiscal year beginning in such calendar year. Any such report shall contain full and substantive analysis, in addition to statistical information.

(ii)Not later than December 31 of each calendar year, the National Taxpayer Advocate shall report to the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Finance of the Senate on the activities of the Office of the Taxpayer Advocate during the fiscal year ending during such calendar year. Any such report shall contain full and substantive analysis, in addition to statistical information, and shall—

(I)identify the initiatives the Office of the Taxpayer Advocate has taken on improving taxpayer services and Internal Revenue Service responsiveness;

(II)contain recommendations received from individuals with the authority to issue Taxpayer Assistance Orders under section 7811;

(III)contain a summary of the 10 most serious problems encountered by taxpayers, including a description of the nature of such problems;

(IV)contain an inventory of the items described in subclauses (I), (II), and (III) for which action has been taken and the result of such action;

(V)contain an inventory of the items described in subclauses (I), (II), and (III) for which action remains to be completed and the period during which each item has remained on such inventory;

(VI)contain an inventory of the items described in subclauses (I), (II), and (III) for which no action has been taken, the period during which each item has remained on such inventory, the reasons for the inaction, and identify any Internal Revenue Service official who is responsible for such inaction;

(VII)identify any Taxpayer Assistance Order which was not honored by the Internal Revenue Service in a timely manner, as specified under section 7811(b);

(VIII)identify any Taxpayer Advocate Directive which was not honored by the Internal Revenue Service in a timely manner, as specified under paragraph (5);

(IX)contain recommendations for such administrative and legislative action as may be appropriate to resolve problems encountered by taxpayers;

(X)identify areas of the tax law that impose significant compliance burdens on taxpayers or the Internal Revenue Service, including specific recommendations for remedying these problems;

(XI)identify the 10 most litigated issues for each category of taxpayers, including recommendations for mitigating such disputes;

(XII)with respect to any statistical information included in such report, include a statement of whether such statistical information was reviewed or provided by the Secretary under section 6108(d) and, if so, whether the Secretary determined such information to be statistically valid and based on sound statistical methodology; and

(XIII)include such other information as the National Taxpayer Advocate may deem advisable.

(iii)Each report required under this subparagraph shall be provided directly to the committees described in clause (i) without any prior review or comment from the Commissioner, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Oversight Board, any other officer or employee of the Department of the Treasury, or the Office of Management and Budget. The preceding sentence shall not apply with respect to statistical information provided to the Secretary for review, or received from the Secretary, under section 6108(d).

(iv)To the extent that information required to be reported under clause (ii) is also required to be reported under paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection (d) by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, the National Taxpayer Advocate shall not contain such information in the report submitted under such clause.

(C)The National Taxpayer Advocate shall—

(i)monitor the coverage and geographic allocation of local offices of taxpayer advocates;

(ii)develop guidance to be distributed to all Internal Revenue Service officers and employees outlining the criteria for referral of taxpayer inquiries to local offices of taxpayer advocates;

(iii)ensure that the local telephone number for each local office of the taxpayer advocate is published and available to taxpayers served by the office; and

(iv)in conjunction with the Commissioner, develop career paths for local taxpayer advocates choosing to make a career in the Office of the Taxpayer Advocate.

(D)

(i)The National Taxpayer Advocate shall have the responsibility and authority to—

(I)appoint local taxpayer advocates and make available at least 1 such advocate for each State; and

(II)evaluate and take personnel actions (including dismissal) with respect to any employee of any local office of a taxpayer advocate described in subclause (I).

(ii)The National Taxpayer Advocate may consult with the appropriate supervisory personnel of the Internal Revenue Service in carrying out the National Taxpayer Advocate’s responsibilities under this subparagraph.

(E)Before beginning any research or study, the National Taxpayer Advocate shall coordinate with the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration to ensure that the National Taxpayer Advocate does not duplicate any action that the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration has already undertaken or has a plan to undertake.

(3)The Commissioner shall establish procedures requiring a formal response to all recommendations submitted to the Commissioner by the National Taxpayer Advocate within 3 months after submission to the Commissioner.

(4)

(A)Each local taxpayer advocate—

(i)shall report to the National Taxpayer Advocate or delegate thereof;

(ii)may consult with the appropriate supervisory personnel of the Internal Revenue Service regarding the daily operation of the local office of the taxpayer advocate;

(iii)shall, at the initial meeting with any taxpayer seeking the assistance of a local office of the taxpayer advocate, notify such taxpayer that the taxpayer advocate offices operate independently of any other Internal Revenue Service office and report directly to Congress through the National Taxpayer Advocate; and

(iv)may, at the taxpayer advocate’s discretion, not disclose to the Internal Revenue Service contact with, or information provided by, such taxpayer.

(B)Each local office of the taxpayer advocate shall maintain a separate phone, facsimile, and other electronic communication access, and a separate post office address.

(5)In the case of any Taxpayer Advocate Directive issued by the National Taxpayer Advocate pursuant to a delegation of authority from the Commissioner of Internal Revenue—

(A)the Commissioner or a Deputy Commissioner shall modify, rescind, or ensure compliance with such directive not later than 90 days after the issuance of such directive, and

(B)in the case of any directive which is modified or rescinded by a Deputy Commissioner, the National Taxpayer Advocate may (not later than 90 days after such modification or rescission) appeal to the Commissioner, and the Commissioner shall (not later than 90 days after such appeal is made) ensure compliance with such directive as issued by the National Taxpayer Advocate or provide the National Taxpayer Advocate with the reasons for any modification or rescission made or upheld by the Commissioner pursuant to such appeal.

United States Government work; public domain under 17 U.S.C. § 105.