`TAXPAYERS BILL OF RIGHTS' PASSES CONGRESS.Byline: Knight-Ridder Tribune News Wire After three months in legislative limbo limbo In Roman Catholicism, a region between heaven and hell, the dwelling place of souls not condemned to punishment but deprived of the joy of existence with God in heaven. The concept probably developed in the Middle Ages. , a ``Taxpayers Bill of Rights'' that gives taxpayers more leverage in disputes with the Internal Revenue Service cleared Congress on Thursday. The bill, which President Clinton has promised to sign, gives taxpayers several new tools to defend themselves in tiffs with the Internal Revenue Service. It passed the House three months ago, but was backlogged amid more-controversial legislation in the slow-moving Senate until Thursday evening, when it was adopted on a voice vote. ``It was kind of lost in the shuffle,'' said a leadership aide. While the bill will not revolutionize rev·o·lu·tion·ize tr.v. rev·o·lu·tion·ized, rev·o·lu·tion·iz·ing, rev·o·lu·tion·iz·es 1. To bring about a radical change in: Television has revolutionized news coverage. 2. the relationship between the IRS An abbreviation for the Internal Revenue Service, a federal agency charged with the responsibility of administering and enforcing internal revenue laws. and taxpayers, it is intended, as Senate Finance Committee Chairman William Roth, R-Del., put it, to make the agency ``a bit kinder and gentler.'' Among other things, the bill: Creates a ``taxpayer advocate'' at the IRS to represent taxpayers in disputes with the agency, providing they have acted in good faith. Instructs the IRS to waive To intentionally or voluntarily relinquish a known right or engage in conduct warranting an inference that a right has been surrendered. For example, an individual is said to waive the right to bring a tort action when he or she renounces the remedy provided by law for such any penalties and interest on overdue payments resulting from an IRS mistake, if the taxpayer had not meant to cheat the government. Gives taxpayers more time to pay back taxes without interest charges being levied. Increases to $1 million from $100,000 the award due taxpayers who can prove the IRS recklessly or intentionally damaged them in a tax dispute. Switches the burden of proof from the taxpayer to the IRS in civil disputes and makes it easier for taxpayers who win their cases in court to collect attorneys' fees. Raises to $2,500 from $1,650 the value of property that can be exempted from tax liens Tax Lien A claim imposed by the federal government to liquidate a persons property until owing tax and debt is fully paid. Notes: Tax liens can be purchased from the government in the form of an investment. against taxpayers. This amount also is tied in the future to inflation. Requires the IRS to file a yearly report to Congress identifying any misconduct by IRS employees. Directs the IRS to notify ex-spouses of any effort by the agency to collect back taxes owed by the couple before the divorce. Just before it adopted the measure, the Senate also agreed, at the behest be·hest n. 1. An authoritative command. 2. An urgent request: I called the office at the behest of my assistant. of Sen. John Glenn, D-Ohio, to insert language in later tax legislation to impose stricter standards of confidentiality on IRS workers who handle tax filings, expressly forbidding employees from ``skimming'' through returns for no official purpose. Glenn has long complained about the ease with which some IRS employees could peek at annual tax returns. The bill also empowers the IRS to withdraw the tax exemption tax exemption, immunity from the requirement of paying taxes. Federal, state, and usually local law provide exemption from taxation for a wide variety of organizations, usually not-for-profit, such as churches, colleges, universities, health care providers, various from charitable organizations This article is about charitable organizations. For other uses of the word charity, see Charity. A charitable organization (also known as a charity) is an organization with charitable purposes only. that provide excessive benefits to people associated with the charity. Alternatively, the IRS could fine any charity that violated the rule against special treatment for the charity's close associates or officers. |
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