Lance: Protect Taxpayers from IRS abuse

WASHINGTON, D.C. --- Congressman Leonard Lance (NJ-07) spent Tax Day voting in favor of a series of reforms that will strengthen transparency and accountability at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

“At a time when filing taxes is more complicated than ever, Congress should lessen the tax burden on Americans and protect hard-working taxpayers from IRS abuse,” said Lance.  “Today the U.S. House has passed a series of measures that protect taxpayer rights and bring accountability and responsibility to the IRS.”

The following bills passed the U.S. House with Lance’s support:

•          H.R. 1058 forces the IRS to implement a robust Taxpayer Bill of Rights and H.R. 1104 prevents the IRS from targeting contributions to nonprofits with the gift tax.

•          H.R. 1152, the "IRS Email Transparency Act" prohibits IRS agency employees from using their personal email accounts on the job.

•          H.R. 709, the "Prevent Targeting at the IRS Act" makes targeting Americans for their political or religious beliefs a firing offense.

•          H.R. 1314 grants organizations seeking tax-exempt status a fair and impartial appeal process in the event their application is denied by the IRS.

•          H.R. 1295 is a proposal to streamline the 501(c)4 application process by allowing groups to instead self-declare their tax-exempt status—rather than enduring indefinite delays by the IRS.

•          H.R. 1026, the "Taxpayer Knowledge of IRS Investigations Act" will prevent the IRS from exploiting taxpayer privacy safeguards to cover employees who mishandle confidential taxpayer information.

“This group of common-sense reform bills, all passed with bipartisan support, will help ensure the IRS remains accountable to the American taxpayer,” concluded Lance.