FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, Contact: (202) 225-7601
June 22, 2000
No. OV-21
Congressman Amo Houghton (R-NY), Chairman, Subcommittee on Oversight of the Committee on Ways and Means, today announced that the Subcommittee will hold a hearing on the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) report to Congress regarding complexity in the administration of the Federal tax laws. The hearing will take place on Thursday, June 29, 2000, in the main Committee hearing room, 1100 Longworth House Office Building, beginning at 10:00 a.m.
The sole witness will be Charles O. Rossotti, Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service. However, any individual or organization may submit a written statement for consideration by the Committee and for inclusion in the printed record of the hearing.
BACKGROUND:
In section 4022 of the Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998 (RRA) (P.L. 105-206), Congress required the IRS to report annually regarding sources of complexity in the administration of the Federal tax laws.
Congress instructed the IRS to take into account the following factors in making its report: (1) frequently asked questions by taxpayers, (2) common errors made by taxpayers in filling out their tax forms, (3) areas of law that frequently result in disagreements between taxpayers and the IRS, (4) major areas in which there is no, or incomplete, published guidance, or in which the law is uncertain, (5) areas in which revenue agents make frequent errors in interpreting or applying the law, (6) the impact of recent legislation on complexity, (7) information regarding forms, including a listing of IRS forms, the time it takes taxpayers to complete and review forms, the number of taxpayers who use each form, and how the time required changed as a result of recent legislation, and (8) recommendations for reducing complexity. The report to be presented by the Commissioner is the first annual complexity report to Congress since the enactment of the RRA.
In announcing the hearing, Chairman Houghton stated: "I have long sought simplification of the Federal tax laws. I am hopeful that the Service's first complexity report will highlight the most problematic provisions and lead to possible legislation to reduce unnecessary complexity for taxpayers."
FOCUS OF THE HEARING:
The focus of the hearing will be to discuss the most complex provisions in the Internal Revenue Code as identified by the IRS and possible remedies.
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 six (6) single-spaced copies of their statement, along with an IBM compatible 3.5-inch diskette in WordPerfect or MS Word format, with their name, address, and hearing date noted on a label, by the close of business, Thursday, July 13, 2000, 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, 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 or MS Word 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.