Ellen Tauscher: “Mr. Speaker, I rise in really strong support of the Innocent Spouse Protection Act. Along with my great friend and…”

“Mr. Speaker, I rise in really strong support of the Innocent Spouse Protection Act. Along with my great friend and colleague Senator Feinstein of California, I introduced this legislation because I believe that it will provide a straightforward solution to the unfair treatment of innocent spouses under the current law. Under the current Tax Code, the IRS may relieve an innocent spouse of liability for unpaid taxes if it would be unfair to hold that spouse responsible. No recourse exists, however, to prevent the IRS from seizing assets or garnishing wages if relief is not approved. The story of one Californian provides an example of the problem. The IRS seized all of her husband's income to pay a tax liability incurred 20 years earlier, very long before they were married, which is clearly not the responsibility of this spouse. But because the IRS seized all of the income, the taxes on the income remained unpaid and, as you can imagine, the ball keeps rolling along. When this woman's spouse died, the IRS pursued the innocent spouse for the taxes on her deceased husband's income. Along rolls the ball. She was forced to then sell her family home and all of her property owned jointly with her husband.”