The House on April 18, 2018, approved by an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote of 414-0, the Taxpayer First Act (H.R. 5444), to establish an IRS Independent Office of Appeals, enhance customer service at the agency, improve enforcement, and provide for modernization of the IRS organizational structure. The bill was considered under a closed rule in the House, which precluded any amendment.

Under H.R. 5444, the title Commissioner of Internal Revenue would be replaced by Administrator, who would be required to submit to Congress by September 30, 2020 a plan to redesign the organization of the IRS. A separate provision would require Treasury, in consultation with the National Taxpayer Advocate, to submit to Congress within one year of enactment a comprehensive strategy for customer service to include a plan to determine appropriate levels of online services, telephone call back services, and employee training. "A new tax code really demands a new tax collector — and, Republicans and Democrats together, are launching reforms that create a 'Taxpayer First' IRS," Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-TX) said.

In addition to establishing an "IRS Independent Office of Appeals," the bill implements an absolute right to go to Appeals in certain limited circumstances; modifies the authority of the IRS to issue a "designated summons;" and places limits on the access of non-IRS employees to tax returns and tax return information.

The bill was part of a package of bills put forward by Subcommittee on Oversight Chairman Lynn Jenkins (R-KS) and Oversight Ranking Member John Lewis (D-GA). The 21st Century IRS Act (H.R. 5445), which was also approved by a vote of 414-3, includes proposals to improve cybersecurity and taxpayer identity protection, and to modernize information technology at the IRS. H.R. 5445 calls for secure, individualized online accounts to provide services to taxpayers and return preparers, including obtaining taxpayer information, making payment of taxes, sharing documentation, and addressing and correcting issues.

Establishment of online accounts was one of three recommendations offered by Assistant Treasury Secretary for Tax Policy and Acting IRS Commissioner David Kautter during a Senate Finance Committee hearing last week. Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-UT) said he will explore legislative options on IRS reform with others members of the Committee.

The other bills that were part of the Jenkins-Lewis package were approved by the House also, along with some privacy measures also reported out of the Ways and Means Committee last week. H.R. 5192, the Protecting Children from Identity Theft Act, was approved by a 420-1 vote.

Approved by voice vote in the House were:

— H.R. 5440, to require notice from the Secretary of the Treasury in the case of any closure of a Taxpayer Assistance Center

— H.R. 2901, the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Permanence Act of 2017

— H.R. 5438, to allow officers and employees of the Department of the Treasury to provide to taxpayers information regarding low-income taxpayer clinics

— H.R. 5446, to restrict the immediate sale of seized property by Secretary of the Treasury to perishable goods

— H.R. 5437, to require the Secretary of the Treasury to establish a program for the issuance of identity protection personal identification numbers

— H.R. 5439, to provide for a single point of contact at the Internal Revenue Service for the taxpayers who are victims of tax-related identity theft

— H.R. 5443, to require electronic filing of the annual returns of exempt organizations and provide for making such returns available for public inspection

— H.R. 4403, the Moving Americans Privacy Protection Act

— H.R. 1512, the Social Security Child Protection Act of 2017

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