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Rahall Votes to Protect Taxpayers on Tax Day

04/16/08

As Americans across the country filed their tax returns Tuesday, U.S. Rep. Nick J. Rahall (D-WV) joined his colleagues in the House in passing H.R. 5719, the Taxpayer Assistance and Simplification Act of 2008, to strengthen taxpayer protections against identify theft and tax fraud, close offshore tax loopholes for federal contractors, stop taxpayer harassment by ending the private collection of federal taxes, and expand help for low-income taxpayers.

“Honest, hard-working American taxpayers deserve a tax system that works for them, not against them,” said Rahall. “This bill will do just that by helping to make the tax code simpler, improving IRS outreach to taxpayers, and making sure that every American tax dollar is wisely spent.” 

The provisions included in H.R. 5719 would: 

  • Strengthen Anti-Taxpayer Harassment Provisions by ending the IRS’s use of Private Debt Collectors to collect federal income taxes.
  • Protect Taxpayers against Identity Theft and Tax Fraud by requiring the IRS to notify a taxpayer that there may have been unauthorized use of the taxpayer’s identity and by increasing civil and criminal penalties on misleading websites that seek to get personal information by imitating the IRS.
  • Improve IRS outreach to make sure that people know that they are entitled to tax refunds or to payments under the Earned Income Tax Credit.
  • Protect low-income taxpayers by prohibiting IRS debt indicators for predatory refund anticipation loans, allowing IRS employees to refer taxpayers to qualified low-income taxpayer clinics, and authorizing funding for Volunteer Income Tax Assistance ("VITA") programs.
The bill would also close offshore tax loopholes that allow federal contractors to use foreign subsidiaries to evade Social Security and other employment taxes. 

“Each year, a number of federal contractors cheat the government out of millions by setting up sham companies in exotic locales to avoid paying Social Security and Medicare taxes,” said Rahall. “Thankfully, this bill will close that costly loophole and make sure that every contractor—especially those that receive millions from the federal government—has to take care of their workers and pay taxes just like everyone else.”