“The common thread that unites each of these bills is we are putting American taxpayers first.”
As prepared for delivery.
“Good morning and welcome to our first markup of the Ways and Means Committee this Congress.
“Today we will consider several bipartisan bills designed to improve the tax system for all Americans. As the economy evolves and technology advances, it is important that we look for ways big and small to improve the system for taxpayers. At the same time, we have to look for opportunities to reduce waste, fraud, and abuse. That is what today’s markup is all about.
“Our first bill from Representatives Malliotakis, Kustoff, and Sewell, addresses the serious problem of stolen tax refund checks. This rampant theft is made even crazier by the fact that often the replacement checks sent to those who had their original refunds taken are then also stolen. The IRS has no process for taxpayers to request a replacement through direct deposit which would help mitigate this crime wave. That is entirely unacceptable. This bill forces the IRS to do its jobs to better serve taxpayers and create an easy way for taxpayers to request replacement checks via direct deposit.
“Our next three bills are common sense ideas that make it easier for Americans to file taxes and hold the IRS accountable. Each of these bills represent effective ways Congress can cut the burden of filing taxes for families and small businesses.
“The first bill helps guarantee the independence of employees of the National Taxpayer Advocate. The National Taxpayer Advocate is tasked with defending taxpayers against the IRS and recommending reforms to make the IRS more taxpayer friendly. This bill is simple. Right now, the National Taxpayer Advocate is not permitted to hire her own attorneys that report directly to her. Thanks to this bill introduced by Representatives Feenstra and Davis, the Taxpayer Advocate will be responsible for Taxpayer Advocate personnel, which will enhance the Advocate’s independence from the IRS and yield better return for the American taxpayer.
“The second bill provides taxpayers with accurate information when the IRS uses math error authority to make an adjustment on their tax return. Frequently, folks are not made aware of or given an explanation when the IRS determines a return has a math or clerical error. The result can leave taxpayers paying more in taxes because they have no way of challenging the IRS’s assessment of their tax liability. This bill from Representatives Feenstra and Schneider levels the playing field for taxpayers and requires the IRS to notify individuals of any adjustments to their tax return and gives them 60 days to challenge that adjustment.
“The third bill, from Representatives LaHood, Feenstra, Fitzpatrick, DelBene, Panetta, and Schneider updates tax filing rules to make filing more taxpayer-friendly. Tax returns and payments filed digitally will now receive the same treatment as those sent through the mail instead of being treated worse than paper filings.
“Our last bill extends the statute of limitations for prosecuting the theft of COVID-era unemployment insurance benefits. Last Congress, Congressman Thompson introduced an amendment during our markup of the “Protecting Taxpayers and Victims of Unemployment Fraud Act” to extend the statute of limitations and after discussion, withdrew the amendment, creating this opportunity for bipartisanship.
“According to the Government Accountability Office, between $100 to $135 billion of UI benefits were stolen during the pandemic. Some estimates range as high as $400 billion. Of the stolen money, only $5 billion has been recovered. As we sit here, there are over 157,000 open UI fraud hotline complaints and more than 1,600 ongoing fraud investigations.
“The statute of limitations for these investigations runs out in 43 days on March 27. If we don’t extend the statute of limitations, every one of these investigations will end and those that perpetrated the greatest theft of taxpayer dollars in American history will not be brought to justice. This legislation doubles the statute of limitations from five to 10 years so we can continue going after these criminals who diverted funds from American workers and recover the money that rightfully belongs to taxpayers.
“The common thread that unites each of these bills is we are putting American taxpayers first. Folks deserve to have their money returned from criminals. They deserve to have an IRS that works for them, and not the other way around. These are common sense bills led by great members on both sides of the aisle. I want to thank my colleagues for your work in putting together this legislation.”