FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, CONTACT: (202) 225-1721
October 26, 1999
FC-14
Congressman Bill Archer (R-TX), Chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means, today announced that the Committee will hold a hearing on corporate tax shelters. The hearing will take place on Wednesday, November 10, 1999, in the main Committee hearing room, 1100 Longworth House Office Building, beginning at 10:00 a.m.
Oral testimony at this hearing will be from both invited and public witnesses. Invited witnesses will include representatives of the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Joint Committee on Taxation. Also, any individual or organization not scheduled for an oral appearance may submit a written statement for consideration by the Committee or for inclusion in the printed record of the hearing.
BACKGROUND:
Section 3801 of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Reform and Restructuring Act (P.L. 105-206) required the Joint Committee on Taxation and the Treasury to each conduct a separate study reviewing the interest and penalty provisions of the Internal Revenue Code, and make any legislation and administrative recommendations deemed appropriate to simplify penalty administration and reduce taxpayer burden, by July 22, 1999. On July 1, 1999, the Treasury released a "white paper" on corporate tax shelter penalties and related issues, but did not deliver the broader penalty and interest study. The Joint Committee on Taxation issued its recommendations on penalties and interest and corporate tax shelters on July 22, 1999. On July 13, Chairman Archer announced his intention to hold a hearing on corporate tax shelters after the Treasury had completed its penalty and interest study. That study, including additional recommendations which could affect corporate tax shelters, was received yesterday. There is little agreement as to the definition or extent of corporate tax shelters, or the proper governmental response to them. The hearing will address the various policy issues related to corporate tax shelters as well as possible administrative or legislative responses.
In announcing the hearing, Chairman Archer stated: "This hearing is the latest in the Committee's efforts to stop abusive tax shelters. Due to actions taken by Congress since 1995, we have stopped $50 billion in tax abuses. The IRS has won case after case in tax court using the very tools Congress already provided. Now, our challenge is to focus efforts on stopping abuses while properly restraining new blanket authorities for the IRS that might chill legitimate business transactions. This hearing continues the Committee's efforts to strike the proper balance in addressing the problems presented by corporate tax shelters."
FOCUS OF THE HEARING:
The hearing will focus on (1) the nature and scope of the perceived corporate tax shelter problem, (2) the manner in which the IRS and the courts are currently addressing corporate tax shelters, (3) additional steps the Administration could take under current law to address such shelters, (4) additional legislation which might be necessary to address corporate tax shelters, and, (5) procedures the Administration has in place or could adopt, or that the Congress could enact, to ensure that new or existing enforcement tools brought to bear on corporate tax shelters do not interfere with legitimate business transactions or make more difficult the application of an already complex income tax.
DETAILS FOR SUBMISSIONS OF REQUESTS TO BE HEARD:
Requests to be heard at the hearing must be made by telephone to Traci Altman or Pete Davila at (202) 225-1721 no later than the close of business, Wednesday, November 3, 1999. The telephone request should be followed by a formal written request to A.L. Singleton, Chief of Staff, Committee on Ways and Means, U.S. House of Representatives, 1102 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515. The staff of the Committee will notify by telephone those scheduled to appear as soon as possible after the filing deadline. Any questions concerning a scheduled appearance should be directed to the Committee staff at (202) 225-1721.
In view of the limited time available to hear witnesses, the Committee may not be able to accommodate all requests to be heard. Those persons and organizations not scheduled for an oral appearance are encouraged to submit written statements for the record of the hearing. All persons requesting to be heard, whether they are scheduled for oral testimony or not, will be notified as soon as possible after the filing deadline.
Witnesses scheduled to present oral testimony are required to summarize briefly their written statements in no more than five minutes. THE FIVE-MINUTE RULE WILL BE STRICTLY ENFORCED. The full written statement of each witness will be included in the printed record, in accordance with House Rules.
In order to assure the most productive use of the limited amount of time available to question witnesses, all witnesses scheduled to appear before the Committee are required to submit 300 copies, along with an IBM compatible 3.5-inch diskette in WordPerfect 5.1 format, of their prepared statement for review by Members prior to the hearing. Testimony should arrive at the Committee office, room 1102 Longworth House Office Building, no later than Monday, November 8, 1999. Failure to do so may result in the witness being denied the opportunity to testify in person.
WRITTEN STATEMENTS IN LIEU OF PERSONAL APPEARANCE:
Any person or organization wishing to submit a written statement for the printed record of the hearing should submit six (6) single-spaced copies of their statement, along with an IBM compatible 3.5-inch diskette in WordPerfect 5.1 format, with their name, address, and hearing date noted on a label, by the close of business, Wednesday, November 24, 1999, to A.L. Singleton, Chief of Staff, Committee on Ways and Means, U.S. House of Representatives, 1102 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515. If those filing written statements wish to have their statements distributed to the press and interested public at the hearing, they may deliver 200 additional copies for this purpose to the Committee office, room 1102 Longworth House Office Building, by close of business the day before the hearing.
FORMATTING REQUIREMENTS:
Each statement presented for printing to the Committee by a witness, any written statement or exhibit submitted for the printed record or any written comments in response to a request for written comments must conform to the guidelines listed below. Any statement or exhibit not in compliance with these guidelines will not be printed, but will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.
1. All statements and any accompanying exhibits for printing must be submitted on an IBM compatible 3.5-inch diskette in WordPerfect 5.1 format, typed in single space and may not exceed a total of 10 pages including attachments. Witnesses are advised that the Committee will rely on electronic submissions for printing the official hearing record.
2. Copies of whole documents submitted as exhibit material will not be accepted for printing. Instead, exhibit material should be referenced and quoted or paraphrased. All exhibit material not meeting these specifications will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.
3. A witness appearing at a public hearing, or submitting a statement for the record of a public hearing, or submitting written comments in response to a published request for comments by the Committee, must include on his statement or submission a list of all clients, persons, or organizations on whose behalf the witness appears.
4. A supplemental sheet must accompany each statement listing the name, company, address, telephone and fax numbers where the witness or the designated representative may be reached. This supplemental sheet will not be included in the printed record.
The above restrictions and limitations apply only to material being submitted for printing. Statements and exhibits or supplementary material submitted solely for distribution to the Members, the press, and the public during the course of a public hearing may be submitted in other forms.
The
Committee seeks to make its facilities accessible to persons with
disabilities. If you are in need of special accommodations, please
call 202-225-1721 or 202-226-3411 TTD/TTY in advance of the event
(four business days notice is requested). Questions with regard to
special accommodation needs in general (including availability of
Committee materials in alternative formats) may be directed to the
Committee as noted above.