Opening Statement of Hon. Amo Houghton, M.C., New York,
and Chairman, Subcommittee on Oversight

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

Hearing on the Taxpayer Advocate Report and the Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic Program

July 12, 2001

Good afternoon. Our hearing today will review the report of the Taxpayer Advocate and receive the views of individuals who run clinics that assist low-income taxpayers. While these are two distinct programs within the Internal Revenue Service, they share the common goal of assisting taxpayers with the maze of laws, regulations and procedures of our income tax system.

Our first witness, the Taxpayer Advocate, Nina Olson, also provides a unique bridge between the activities of the Taxpayer Advocate Service and the performance of Low-Income Taxpayer Clinics. Ms. Olson was a leader in the low-income tax world, having established the first clinic some nine years ago.

We value the mission of the Taxpayer Advocate Service - that of advocacy on behalf of taxpayers. While working within the IRS structure, we expect Taxpayer Advocates to be a strong voice for the little guy. And we expect the IRS Commissioner and the other functional units in the IRS to listen to the recommendations of the Taxpayer Advocate.

Your key goals, advocating changes in tax law or procedures that reduce taxpayer burden, and assisting taxpayers in resolving problems with the IRS, are ones that we in Congress, on a bipartisan basis, strongly support. We look forward to working with you in achieving your mission.

Our second panel today is comprised of representatives of Low-Income Taxpayer Clinics. In 1998, Congress recognized the need to provide assistance to taxpayers who are not able to afford proper assistance when faced with significant IRS problems.

The low-income taxpayer clinic program provides grants to law, business, or accounting schools, or to nonprofit groups providing tax assistance. This funding, a total of only $6 million from the IRS budget, and limited to matching private funds up to $100,000 per clinic per year, enables low-income taxpayers to receive appropriate representation when faced with disputes with the IRS. In addition, the clinics provide important tax information to individuals for whom English is a second language.

I'm very pleased that one of our witnesses today is Professor Allen Cohen, representing the Ithaca College Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic. This clinic serves many taxpayers in my district in New York, and I appreciate your important work.

Many of our hearings and the daily stories in the papers focus on problems with the Internal Revenue Service. The IRS does have problems, but today we are pleased to talk about two successes - the Taxpayer Advocate Service and Low-Income Taxpayer Clinics.

I am pleased to yield to our ranking Democrat, Mr. Coyne.