Support the Preserving Taxpayers’ Rights Act, H.R. 3220

On behalf of FreedomWorks’ activist community, I urge you to contact your representative and ask him or her to support the Preserving Taxpayers’ Rights Act, H.R. 3220, introduced by Rep. Jason Smith (R-Mo.). The bill would bring necessary reforms to allow taxpayers to resolve tax disputes with the IRS without being forced to litigate in court which is inefficient, expensive, and time consuming for taxpayers, the IRS, and the courts.

Conservatives have long called for an overhaul of the IRS and IRS practices. Now, with an administration that believes in reigning in government bureaucracy, there’s a great chance to end inefficient IRS actions.

The Preserving Taxpayers’ Rights Act would establish the legal right to bring tax disputes, to the IRS Office of Appeals before being forced to litigate in tax court. It would also limit the IRS power to issue a “designated summons” to unilaterally suspend the time for conducting an audit unless the IRS proves to a court that a taxpayer was uncooperative.

Lastly, the bill would ban the IRS from hiring outside law firms for conducting tax audits and taking testimony in a tax audit, a dangerous practice that puts private information in the hands of non-government employees.

One of FreedomWorks recurrent goals for Congress is to pass common sense tax reform that puts money back in the hands of the people, not government. This goal cannot be achieved unless our tax laws are administered ethically and fairly. This bill is an important step towards allowing taxpayers an opportunity to resolve tax disputes in the IRS Office of Appeals before being forced to litigate in court which is inefficient, expensive, and time-consuming for taxpayers, the IRS, and the court and also a waste of government resources.

For these reasons, I urge you to contact your representative and ask him or her to support the Preserving Taxpayers’ Rights Act, H.R. 3220.

Sincerely,

Adam Brandon, President, FreedomWorks