FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: (202) 225-7601
March 24, 1998
No. OV-14
Congresswoman Nancy L. Johnson (R-CT), Chairman, Subcommittee on Oversight of the Committee on Ways and Means, today announced that the Subcommittee will hold a hearing on the 1998 tax return filing season and the Administration's budget request for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for fiscal year (FY) 1999. The hearing will take place on Tuesday, March 31, 1998, in the full Committee hearing room, 1100 Longworth House Office Building, beginning at 2:00 p.m.
In view of the limited time available to hear witnesses, oral testimony at this hearing will be from invited witnesses only. Witnesses will include IRS Commissioner Charles O. Rossotti, representatives from the U.S. General Accounting Office, and professional tax practitioner groups. However, any individual or organization not scheduled for an oral appearance may submit a written statement for consideration by the Committee and for inclusion in the printed record of the hearing.
BACKGROUND:
The 1998 tax return filing season refers to the
period of time between January 1st and April 15th
when Americans will file over 208 million individual and business tax
returns. During this period, the IRS is expected to issue over 89
million tax refunds and answer 121 million telephone calls from
taxpayers asking for assistance.
The Administration's budget requests $8.2 billion to fund the IRS for FY 1999, plus an additional $323 million to establish a new account to fund future computer modernization. This level of funding would support about 102,000 employees who would collect an estimated $1.7 trillion in taxes, according to Administration estimates. Beyond the traditional activities of the filing season, the FY 1999 budget also would fund, among other things: IRS examination activities, criminal tax law investigations, efforts to improve customer service, employee salaries, the operation of the IRS's computer systems, and the effort to make the IRS's computer systems compliant with the century date change.
In announcing the hearing, Chairman Johnson stated: "The IRS is experiencing a whirlwind of change. Congress is on the verge of passing legislation to restructure and reform the IRS. The IRS Commissioner has proposed the most sweeping reorganization of the IRS in 40 years. And during the midst of these changes the IRS must implement many recent changes in the tax law while it simultaneously tries to make its computer systems compliant with the century date change. The IRS looks like a juggler trying to keep one-too-many plates in the air. We want to review the IRS's budget and its operations to see if it is meeting all of these challenges in a balanced, timely manner."
FOCUS OF THE HEARING:
The Subcommittee will explore how the IRS intends to allocate its FY 1999 budget resources, and what effect its funding level will have on the IRS's ability to fulfill its mission "to collect the proper amount of tax revenue at the least cost, and serve the public by continually improving the quality of its products and services. . . ." In particular, the Subcommittee will examine: what effect the budget request will have on the quality of IRS taxpayer services, the effort to make the IRS computer systems compliant with the century date change, and the effect of the Commissioner's proposed reorganization plan.
With respect to the current filing season, the Subcommittee will explore how effectively the IRS is responding to taxpayers requests for assistance, how efficiently it is processing taxpayers' refunds, and the progress of IRS efforts to promote the electronic filing of tax returns.
DETAILS FOR SUBMISSION OF WRITTEN COMMENTS:
Any person or organization wishing to submit a written statement for the printed record of the hearing should submit at least six (6) single-space legal-size copies of their statement, along with an IBM compatible 3.5-inch diskette in ASCII DOS Text or WordPerfect 5.1 format only, with their name, address, and hearing date noted on a label, by the close of business, Tuesday, April 14, 1998, 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 Subcommittee on Oversight office, room 1136 Longworth House Office Building, at least one hour before the hearing begins.
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 typed in single space on legal-size paper and may not exceed a total of 10 pages including attachments. At the same time written statements are submitted to the Committee, witnesses are now requested to submit their statements on an IBM compatible 3.5-inch diskette in ASCII DOS Text or WordPerfect 5.1 format. 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, full address, a telephone number where the witness or the designated representative may be reached and a topical outline or summary of the comments and recommendations in the full statement. 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.