when the IRS commissioner himself is requiring, you know, professional assistance to deal with the Tax Code, I think that is a statement in and of itself

I think CBO estimates that the 10-year cost for the IRS is going to be somewhere in the $5 billion to $10 billion range.

The National Taxpayer Advocate's recent report to Congress provided some alarming facts on what the federal Tax Code has become.

Every year taxpayers face a Tax Code of growing complexity.

The IRS must simultaneously respect the rights of taxpayers, provide assistance to the millions of taxpayers who have questions about their taxes, and go after those who cheat the system.

I share the gentleman's concerns. I think they are very legitimate.

And clearly, the IRS is the agency, the entity that is best positioned to make that determination, to enforce the law.

Very important questions, and certainly know we have a current body of law that needs to be followed with regard to whether an organization qualifies as tax-exempt or not.

I thank the gentleman. Thank you, Commissioner Shulman, for appearing before the subcommittee.

And I think it is important for us to make sure that if you are going to try to tell the public that they should not have to pay the same level of taxes that a for-profit enterprise pays, that it should be for a good reason.

Well, again, I know I am repeating myself, but if you all can followup with every feature that is temporary, the time line to make it permanent and where the dollars are in hand to get that done, that would be very comforting.

My concern is that we are going to inhibit commerce and basically cost jobs.

How are we possibly going to not curtail commerce when you are budgeting well less than half what we have spent in those previous years?

My point is that they fronted this money on the clear promise of reimbursement.

It is clear to me that we are never going to get a specific project recommendation out of it.

I don't want to take up more time here, but could you give me a written schedule, where any item that is temporary will be made permanent?

Forty one million to these local entities is a lot of money. They are out. They have fronted that money.

I am very concerned about some real gaps in that work and some real continuing needs in that work post-Katrina.