OFFICIALS LEGISLATION INTEREST GROUPS PUBLIC STATEMENTS COMMITTEES VETOES

Taxpayer First Act

Floor Speech

Date: April 18, 2018
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Taxes

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Mr. KUSTOFF of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 5444, the Taxpayer First Act.

I want to thank Chairman Jenkins and Ranking Member Lewis for their thoughtful approach to this legislation. Many of these reforms, I think we can all agree, are long overdue, and the American taxpayer deserves better.

By requiring the IRS to submit to Congress a comprehensive customer service strategy and overhauling the tools of enforcement in order to protect American taxpayers, we will be creating a culture at the agency that will focus on one singular mission, and that is taxpayers first. Frankly, Mr. Speaker, this should be the motto of every Federal agency.

For the first time, this bill will codify an Independent Office of Appeals, so that all taxpayers have access to an administrative review process, and give Congress additional oversight over the agency itself.

Additionally, the Taxpayer First Act simplifies enforcement actions of the IRS so that individuals and small-business owners understand their liabilities and what potential actions could be taken by the IRS.

I also want to thank the committee for including a number of important provisions to this bill to protect taxpayers' identities and further combat cybersecurity threats.

In recent years, we all know that millions of Americans have had their personal and financial information stolen and jeopardized through data breaches of companies like Equifax, Target, and even at the Office of Personnel Management.

I am glad to see Congress continuing to push for proactive measures to protect Americans against tax fraud schemes by working with Federal, State, and private partners. These protections will be especially important as the IRS seeks to modernize its services and its IT systems.

With the recent passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, Congress passed legislation to reform our Nation's Tax Code for the first time in over 30 years. Today we have the opportunity to begin reforming the Internal Revenue Service for the first time in 20 years.

Mr. Speaker, this is vitally important legislation, and I urge all Members to vote ``yes.''

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