Office of the Taxpayer Advocate

The Office of the Taxpayer Advocate, also called the Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS), is an office within the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, reporting directly to the Commissioner of Internal Revenue.[2] The office is under the supervision and direction of the National Taxpayer Advocate, who is appointed by the Secretary of Treasury.

Office of the Taxpayer Advocate
Agency overview
HeadquartersInternal Revenue Service Building
1111 Constitution Ave., NW
Washington, D.C. 20224
United States
Employees1,683 (2020)[1]
Annual budget$222 million (2020)[1]
Agency executives
  • Erin M. Collins, National Taxpayer Advocate
  • Kim S. Stewart, Deputy National Taxpayer Advocate
Parent agencyInternal Revenue Service
Websitewww.taxpayeradvocate.irs.gov

History

Established in 1996, the Office of the Taxpayer Advocate has its origins in other Internal Revenue Service programs, such as the Taxpayer Service Program (formalized in 1963)[3] and Problem Resolution Program (established in 1977).[4] On the recommendation of the House Government Operations Committee, the Taxpayer Ombudsman was established within the Office of the IRS Commissioner in 1979, reporting directly to the Commissioner of Internal Revenue.[5] In 1984, the problem resolution offices (PRO) consisted of 80 full time employees and was headed by George A. O'Hanlon, the IRS ombudsman at the time.[6][7] Commentators called for expanding the number of ombudsman as part of wider criticism of how the IRS was operating.[4] The 1988 Taxpayer Bill of rights gave the Ombudsman additional authority to intervene and overturn IRS decisions in certain cases.[8]

The position of Taxpayer Advocate was created under the Taxpayer Bill of Rights 2, an act of the United States Congress which became law on July 30, 1996. The office replaced the previous Office of the Ombudsman within the IRS.[9] The Taxpayer Advocate was initially appointed by the IRS commissioner until the Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998 transferred appointment authority to the United States Secretary of the Treasury.

Responsibilities

Individual case advocacy

The TAS consists of approximately 1,800 employees. About 1,400 of these are Case Advocates, who personally assist taxpayers in resolving their problems with the IRS. Taxpayers may qualify for personal assistance from TAS if they are experiencing economic harm or significant cost (including fees for professional representation) as a result of their tax issue, have experienced a delay of more than 30 days in resolving their issue, or have not received a response or resolution by the date promised by the IRS.[10]

Cases are handled by a Local Taxpayer Advocate office located in each US state, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.[11] These offices are contacted directly by taxpayers, and also receive cases referred by the IRS or Members of Congress.

The National Taxpayer Advocate may, upon application from a taxpayer, issue a Taxpayer Assistance Order (TAO) if the Advocate determines that the taxpayer is suffering (or is about to suffer) a "significant hardship" resulting from the way the U.S. Federal tax law is being administered, or if the taxpayer meets other prescribed requirements.[12][13] The TAO may require the IRS to release property that has been levied, or to cease an action, or to take legally permitted action, or to refrain from taking any action against the taxpayer, under various provisions of the tax law.[14]

Systemic advocacy

In addition, the TAS identifies systemic problems that exist within the Internal Revenue Service and, to the extent possible, propose changes in the administrative practices and identify potential legislative changes which may be appropriate to mitigate such problems.[15] These observations and proposals are presented to Congress each year in the National Taxpayer Advocate's "Annual Report to Congress".[10]

Leadership

The National Taxpayer Advocate is the head of the Office of the Taxpayer Advocate, is appointed by the Secretary of Treasury, and reports directly to the Commissioner of Internal Revenue.[15] The Advocate acts as an ombudsman for the taxpayer. In addition to the duties as the head of the office, the Advocate is responsible for submitting annual reports on objectives and recommendations to the Committee on Ways and Means of the United States House of Representatives and the Committee on Finance of the United States Senate.[15] The reports are submitted without any prior review or comment from the Commissioner, the Secretary of the Treasury, any other officer or employee of the Department of the Treasury, or the Office of Management and Budget.[15]

Taxpayer ombudsman/advocate
Name Term start Term end
Harold M. Browning[16] January 14, 1980
George A. O'Hanlon 1983
Damon O. Holmes Dec 6, 1987 Feb 1993
Lee R. Monks[17] June 1993 1998
W. Val Oveson[18] 1998 October 2000
Henry O. Lamar, Jr. (acting)
Nina E. Olson[19] January 2001 July 31, 2019
Bridget T. Roberts (acting)[20] July 31, 2019 March 30, 2020
Erin M. Collins[21][22] March 30, 2020 -

Criticism

The organization has been criticized as redundant, taking over the role of gathering accurate information on the IRS that was previously handled by the General Accounting Office. Despite some degree of independence from the IRS, the taxpayer advocate office is not fully independent, and still has incentives to avoid releasing damaging information. Finally, the taxpayer advocate may be overly focused on reacting to problems rather than preventing them in the first place.[23][24]

See also

References
  1. U.S. Government Accountability Office (2021-06-16). "Taxpayer Advocate Service: Opportunities Exist to Improve Reports to Congress" (PDF). p. 13. Retrieved 2022-03-26.
  2. 26 U.S.C. § 7803, subsec. (c).
  3. William J. Anderson (1982-03-24). "Statement of William J. Anderson, Director General Government Division Before the Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management Committee on Governmental Affairs United States Senate on The Status of IRS' Taxpayer Service Program" (PDF). United States Government Accountability office. Retrieved 2022-04-18.
  4. "Opinion - NEW YORK; THE I.R.S. IMAGE PROBLEM". The New York Times. 1985-03-30. Retrieved 2022-04-18.
  5. Bryan E. Gates, EA (January 27, 2002). "Testimony IRS Oversight Board" (PDF). Retrieved 2022-03-26.
  6. Deborah Rankin (1984-09-23). "PERSONAL FINANCE; DEALING WITH THE I.R.S.'S MISTAKES". The New York Times. Retrieved 2022-03-27.
  7. Sam Zagoria (1984-10-10). "Running Interference". Washington Post. Retrieved 2022-03-27.
  8. Eric Pianin (1992-04-15). "IRS TO THE ERRANT BUT HONEST: NO MORE MR. TOUGH GUY". Washington Post. Retrieved 2022-03-27.
  9. Pub. L.Tooltip Public Law (United States) 104–168 (text) (PDF), 110 Stat. 1452, enacted July 30, 1996, §101(b)(1)
  10. "Taxpayer Advocate | Internal Revenue Service".
  11. "Local Taxpayer Advocate". IRS. Retrieved 2022-03-27.
  12. 26 U.S.C. § 7811, subsec. (a)(1).
  13. Internal Revenue Manual, IRM 13.1.1.1.1, Internal Revenue Service, U.S. Dep't of the Treasury (Aug. 21, 2000).
  14. 26 U.S.C. § 7811, subsec. (b).
  15. Pub. L.Tooltip Public Law (United States) 104–168 (text) (PDF), 110 Stat. 1452, enacted July 30, 1996, §101(a)
  16. "IRS Historical Fact Book: A Chronology 1646-1992" (PDF). p. 216.
  17. M., Jacob (1998-08-11). "IRS Taps Oveson, Utah's Tax Chief, To Be Agency's Taxpayer Advocate". WSJ. Retrieved 2022-03-27.
  18. Lee Benson (2016-02-15). "A still youthful Val Oveson takes a look back". Desert News. Retrieved 2020-08-30.
  19. The Associated Press (2020-02-02). "Former national taxpayer advocate talks about your rights". WTOP. Retrieved 2020-08-31.
  20. Kelly Phillips Erb (2020-02-27). "IRS Names New National Taxpayer Advocate". Forbes. Retrieved 2020-08-30.
  21. "Our Leadership". Taxpayer Advocate Service. Retrieved 2020-08-30.
  22. "New IRS Taxpayer Advocate Takes Office". CPA Practice Advisor. 2020-03-27. Retrieved 2020-08-30.
  23. Conoboy, Heather B. (2000). "A Wrong Step in the Right Direction: The National Taxpayer Advocate and the 1998 IRS Restructuring and Reform Act". William & Mary Law Review. 41 (4): 1401.
  24. Meland, Creighton R. (1988). "Omnibus Taxpayers' Bill of Rights Act: Taxpayers' Remedy or Political Placebo?". Michigan Law Review. 86 (7): 1787. doi:10.2307/1289104. JSTOR 1289104.
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