National Taxpayer Advocate Releases Annual Report to Congress and Purple Book
Following Congressional mandate, the Acting National Taxpayer Advocate submitted to Congress the 2019 Annual Report to Congress and the third edition of the National Taxpayer Advocate’s Purple Book, which presents legislative recommendations designed to strengthen taxpayer rights and improve tax administration for all taxpayers. Following are the opening remarks:
Preface: Introductory Remarks by the National Taxpayer Advocate 2019
This is the first Annual Report since 2000 that has not been submitted by Nina Olson. Nina retired on July 31, 2019, after leading the Taxpayer Advocate Service for over 18 years. During her time as the National Taxpayer Advocate, Nina fought tirelessly for taxpayer rights and created an organization of advocates who will carry on her legacy. The Taxpayer Advocate Service and all taxpayers are forever grateful for her advocacy.
Changes to the Annual Report to Congress
The 2019 Annual Report looks decidedly different from previous reports in several ways. Section 7803(c)(2)(B)(ii) of the Internal Revenue Code, as amended by the Taxpayer First Act (TFA), requires the National Taxpayer Advocate to submit this report each year and to include in it, among other things, a description of the ten most serious problems encountered by taxpayers as well as administrative and legislative recommendations to mitigate those problems. Previously, the report was required to contain a description of at least 20 of the most serious problems facing taxpayers. By reducing the number of Most Serious Problems to the top ten, we have been able to focus on what we consider to be the critical issues currently impacting taxpayers, the IRS, and tax administration. In Appendix 3, you will find a scorecard detailing how TAS assessed the Most Serious Problems in this year’s report.
TAS also took the opportunity to reevaluate the Annual Report as a whole and make a few other changes. The Most Serious Problems are shorter, which gives these sections a sharper focus on how the identified problem impacts taxpayers and the IRS. All parts of the report except our legislative recommendations are now consolidated into one volume. For ease of reference and use, we present all of our active legislative recommendations, from this year and prior years, in the “Purple Book.” The report also contains a description of the ten tax issues most frequently litigated in the federal courts over the past year, as required by statute, as well as several research studies.
Consistent with the Taxpayer First Act, TAS worked with the IRS to verify the data contained in this report. The only notable exception to this verification process is the research studies found later in this report.
A Period of Change Within the IRS
The Taxpayer First Act marks changes not just for the Taxpayer Advocate Service, but for the IRS as well. By passing the Taxpayer First Act, Congress has sent the IRS a clear message that it needs to rethink the way it operates — the services it provides, its organizational structure, the way it trains employees, and the technology it uses.
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