Wednesday, Oct. 1, 1997 | 9:36 a.m.
Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., today joined a bipartisan group of lawmakers in announcing legislation to overhaul the IRS and make it more accountable and taxpayer-friendly.
Reid, father of the 1988 Taxpayer Bill of Rights, and Sens. Bob Kerrey, D-Neb., and Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, and Reps. Benjamin Cardin, D-Md., and Rob Portman, R-Ohio, were to unveil the precedent-setting legislation this morning at a Capitol Hill news conference.
The proposed IRS Restructuring and Reform Act of 1997, billed as the most comprehensive Internal Revenue Service overhaul since 1952, was to be introduced today in the Senate and House.
The legislation is the result of a yearlong congressional study of the embattled tax-collection agency. It comes a week after well-publicized Senate hearings on IRS abuses.
President Clinton said Tuesday he believed the IRS was "functioning better today than it was five years ago," and he cautioned Congress not to politicize the issue of IRS reform. The administration opposes a dramatic overhaul of the agency.
Republicans on the Hill have been leading the charge against the IRS.
If the act passes Congress, lawmakers said, taxpayers will find dealing with the IRS as easy as dealing with a modern bank, credit card company or other financial institution.
Reid today called the IRS bill the natural step for Congress after passing Taxpayer Bill of Rights I and II.
"We need more accountability, oversight, more modernized services and more streamlined management at the IRS in order to ensure that all our hard-fought rights for taxpayers are protected," Reid said. "It's is obvious that our current system is not working."
Over the years, Las Vegas has been a favorite target of the IRS. The agency has tightened money-laundering regulations in the cash-heavy casino industry and imposed strict rules for handling dealers' tips. Las Vegas ranks high in the number of annual per-capita audits.
Representatives from several IRS watchdog groups -- the National Taxpayers Union, Americans for Tax Reform, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the National Treasury Employee Union -- planned to be on hand when the legislation was unveiled.
The act is designed to move the primary focus of the IRS from enforcement of the tax code to taxpayer service.
It would create a nine-member citizens board to review all IRS operations and recommend its budget.
The legislation also would enhance taxpayer rights, further leveling the playing field for taxpayers as they deal with the IRS.
It also would strengthen the independence of taxpayer advocates within the IRS so citizens will have an easier time registering complaints.
Last week, Reid charged that the tax system was "flawed" and described the IRS as a "huge, powerful bureaucracy with enormous control over American lives."
He has been pushing IRS reform since he became a member of the House in 1982.
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