Committee on Ways and Means, Subcommittee on Oversight, 4-3-01 Testimony

Opening Statement of the Hon. William J. Coyne, M.C., Pennsylvania

Testimony Before the Subcommittee on Oversight
of the House Committee on Ways and Means

Hearing on the 2001 Tax Return Filing Season

April 3, 2001

With less than two weeks left before Monday, April 16^th, it is timely that the Ways and Means Oversight Subcommittee review how the 2001 tax return filing season is progressing.

Reports are that all systems are up and running and that this filing season may be one of the best ever. The Commissioner is doing an excellent job in both reorganizing and modernizing the IRS and should be commended.

The tax return filing season is a huge and complicated operation. Taxpayers will file over 130 million tax returns this year, including 42 million e-filed returns. IRS employees will issue nearly 97 million tax refund checks, answer over 60 million telephone calls from taxpayers, and serve nearly six million taxpayers at IRS "walk-in" sites.

Inevitably, some problems will occur. Hopefully, with the expert oversight and advice of those testifying before us today, these situations can be quickly addressed.

I am pleased that, for the first time, the Subcommittee will have the opportunity to hear from the new IRS Taxpayer Advocate and from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.

I also want to personally welcome the IRS Commissioner and the other witnesses appearing before us today.