WASHINGTON, D.C. – House Ways and Means Oversight Subcommittee Chairman Vern Buchanan (R-FL) announced today that the Subcommittee will hold a hearing entitled “IRS Reform: Lessons Learned from the National Taxpayer Advocate” on Friday, May 19, 2017 at 9:00 AM in room 1100 of the Longworth House Office Building. At the hearing, National Taxpayer Advocate Nina Olson will share her experience and provide more information about meaningful reforms that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) can make to better serve American taxpayers.

Upon announcing the hearing, Chairman Buchanan said:

“As the National Taxpayer Advocate, Ms. Olson’s mission is to be a voice for hard-working taxpayers when they have problems with the IRS. Given her work advocating for taxpayer rights, Ms. Olson is able to offer Congress a unique, first-hand perspective of what works well and what can be improved to better serve taxpayers. I look forward to hearing her recommendations on how to create a better IRS.”

BACKGROUND
To ensure the independence of the Taxpayer Advocate’s office, Congress created the National Taxpayer Advocate and mandated Local Taxpayer Advocates (LTAs) be located in each state as part of the Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998. The purpose of the Taxpayer Advocate’s office is to assist taxpayers in resolving disputes with the IRS and to ensure taxpayers know their rights. The National Taxpayer Advocate is statutorily required to submit two annual reports to the House Committee on Ways and Means and the Senate Committee on Finance. Over the years, the National Taxpayer Advocate has proposed many legislative changes to IRS’s practices in an attempt to mitigate issues affecting taxpayers in general.