Jimmy Panetta: “Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman and Representative Greg Steube for their work together with me on the Taxpayer…”

“Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman and Representative Greg Steube for their work together with me on the Taxpayer Notification and Privacy Act. It is commonsense, bipartisan legislation, passed unanimously out of the Ways and Means Committee, that would ensure that the IRS respects the privacy and the dignity of every taxpayer when collecting needed information. As you heard from the chairman, under current law, the IRS must notify taxpayers before reaching out to third parties, like banks, employers, or even neighbors, to gather information. Yet, these notices are often vague. They fail to specify exactly what they want. At times, they don't even give taxpayers any opportunity to defend themselves or for the taxpayers to provide the information themselves. The National Taxpayer Advocate Service has warned that the current approach falls short. It leaves honest Americans blindsided, and it can put people's reputations at risk in close-knit communities, where a whisper about IRS investigations can chill businesses and damage livelihoods. The Taxpayer Notification and Privacy Act changes that. It would implement a National Taxpayer Advocate's recommendation to mandate tailored notices in which the IRS clearly--clearly states what information it needs and from exactly whom. It then grants the taxpayer a full 45 days to supply that information. This empowers families.…”