ADVISORY
FROM THE COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS

Subcommittee on Oversight

Houghton Announces Hearing on the
 2002 Tax Return Filing Season and the IRS Budget for Fiscal Year 2003

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 2002 tax return filing season and the Administration's budget request for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for fiscal year 2003. The hearing will take place on Tuesday, April 9, 2002, in the main 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 Rossotti, James White, Director of Tax Administration and Justice Issues, U.S. General Accounting Office, as well as representatives of the National Treasury Employees Union and groups involved in tax preparation. 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 2002 tax return filing season refers to the period from January 1^st to April 15^th when U.S. taxpayers will file more than 137 million tax returns, including 44.9 million e-filed returns. During this period the IRS is expected to issue over 100 million tax refunds, answer 108 million telephone calls from taxpayers asking for assistance, and its homepage will receive 3 billion hits.

The Administration's budget requests $10.4 billion to fund the IRS for fiscal year 2003. This level of funding will support approximately 101,000 employees who will collect about $1.9 trillion in taxes, according to Administration estimates.

Beyond supporting the traditional activities of the filing season, the fiscal year 2003 budget request addresses three key strategic goals by the Administration, including pre-filing assistance, filing assistance, and taxpayer compliance programs. The budget request also includes $450 million for the continued Business Systems Modernization effort, as well as $154 million for the Earned Income Tax Credit Compliance Initiative. The Business Systems Modernization effort is a continuation of the program initiated by the landmark IRS Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998 (P.L. 105-206).

In announcing the hearing, Chairman Houghton stated: "Improved customer service was the promise of the new IRS after the Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998. This hearing gives us the opportunity to ensure that the IRS is living up to its promise by processing taxpayer questions, returns, and refunds as efficiently as possible. I am looking forward to our annual review of the tax filing season and the IRS budget."

FOCUS OF THE HEARING:

The Subcommittee will review developments in the 2002 tax filing season, including progress in the customer communications system, electronic filing, and systems modernization. In addition, the Subcommittee will review the proposed budget for the IRS for fiscal year 2003.

DETAILS FOR SUBMISSION OF WRITTEN COMMENTS:

Please Note: Due to the change in House mail policy, any person or organization wishing to submit a written statement for the printed record of the hearing should send it electronically to hearingclerks.waysandmeans@mail.house.gov, along with a fax copy to (202) 225-2610 by the close of business, Tuesday, April 23, 2002. Those filing written statements who wish to have their statements distributed to the press and interested public at the hearing should deliver their 200 copies to the Subcommittee on Oversight in room 1136 Longworth House Office Building, in an open and searchable package 48 hours before the hearing. The U.S. Capitol police will refuse sealed-packaged deliveries to all House office buildings.  Failure to do so may result in the witness being denied the opportunity to testify in person.

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. Due to the change in House mail policy, all statements and any accompanying exhibits for printing must be submitted electronically to hearingclerks.waysandmeans@mail.house.gov, along with a fax copy to (202) 225-2610, in WordPerfect or MS Word format and MUST 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.

Note: All Committee advisories and news releases are available on the World Wide Web at http://waysandmeans.house.gov.

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.