WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Committee on Ways and Means today held a markup and passed H.R. 5719 the Taxpayer Assistance and Simplification Act of 2008 by a vote of 23 to 17.

The legislation, introduced by Chairman Charles B. Rangel (D-NY) and Oversight Subcommittee Chairman John Lewis (D-GA), modernizes Internal Revenue Service functions to make filing taxes simpler while improving outreach to taxpayers.

“We found that thousands of elderly and disabled persons may receive IRS notices for taxes owed for health care aides provided to them under government programs,” said Oversight Subcommittee Chairman John Lewis (D-GA).  “The bill corrects this problem.  We also give the IRS authority to stop programs that prey on [low-income] taxpayers.”

The Taxpayer Assistance and Simplification Act of 2008 is the result of hearings conducted by the Oversight Subcommittee. It is expected that the bill will be brought to the House Floor during the week of April 15th, the tax return filing due date this year.

The provisions included in H.R. 5719 as agreed to by the Committee would:

• Eliminate the special requirements for individuals to keep detailed records of calls made on employer-provided cell phones.
• Delay for one year the imposition of a three-percent withholding requirement on government payments for goods and services made after December 31, 2010.
• Stops federal contractors from using foreign subsidiaries to evade Social Security and other employment taxes.
• Make the administrators of state and local government programs liable for paying the employment taxes on amounts paid by government programs to in-home care workers provided to elderly and disabled persons.
• Repeal the IRS’s authority to use private debt collection companies to collect Federal taxes. 
• Prohibit the misuse of Department of the Treasury names and symbols in misleading websites and "phishing" schemes.
• Protect low-income taxpayers by prohibiting IRS debt indicators for predatory refund anticipation loans, allowing IRS employees to refer taxpayers to qualified low-income taxpayer clinics, and authorizing funding for Volunteer Income Tax Assistance ("VITA") programs. 
• Require the IRS to notify taxpayers if it suspects theft of a taxpayer`s identity.

For more information about this bill, click here.

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