OFFICIALS LEGISLATION INTEREST GROUPS PUBLIC STATEMENTS COMMITTEES VETOES

Taxpayer First Act of 2019

Floor Speech

Date: April 9, 2019
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Taxes Criminal Justice

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. COLLINS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1957, the Taxpayer First Act. The Taxpayer First Act modernizes the IRS and ensures that the IRS cannot abuse its enforcement powers.

To that end, in 2013, a fellow northeast Georgian, Andrew Clyde, experienced IRS abuse in the form of civil asset forfeiture firsthand. Andrew is a Navy veteran who has served multiple tours of duty, and he owns Clyde Armory in Athens, Georgia. The IRS seized $950,000 from his bank accounts despite no evidence of criminal activity. The IRS seized his accounts under what is called structuring laws.

Under structuring laws, the IRS may seize money if an individual made regular deposits or withdrawals of less than $10,000. The law was originally intended to catch those trying to conceal a crime, but, too often, it has been used to target innocent individuals and small business owners.

Andrew Clyde went to court to challenge the IRS abuse and was eventually forced to forfeit $50,000 to the IRS and spend over $100,000 in legal fees.

Andrew Clyde's story is, sadly, a common one, with the IRS seizing more than $242 million in structuring cases from 2005 to 2012. That is why I introduced the RESPECT Act, to stop this practice and to protect hardworking Americans like Andrew Clyde from IRS overreach.

I am glad to see that the RESPECT Act was introduced and has been included in the Taxpayer First Act. This legislation will rein in IRS overreach by requiring prosecutors to demonstrate probable cause that seized funds were illegally earned or structured to conceal illegal activity. It also enables property owners to challenge a seizure at a postseizure hearing rather than wait months or years to have their case heard.

I would like to thank my friends and my dear friend from Georgia, Congressman Lewis, and also Mike Kelly for their work on this legislation and for supporting the modernization of the IRS and protecting innocent Americans from IRS abuse.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT


Source
arrow_upward