Overview
Ways and Means Committee Approves IRS-Related Legislation: Today, the House Ways and Means Committee voted out of committee four pieces of legislation related to IRS functioning:
- H.R. 3724, Ensuring Integrity in the IRS Workforce Act of 2015, prohibits the IRS from rehiring employees who were fired for misconduct
- H.R. 4890, IRS Bonuses Tied to Measurable Metrics, prohibits the IRS from paying bonuses to employees until the Secretary of the Treasury develops and implements a comprehensive customer service strategy
- H.R. 4885, IRS Oversight While Eliminating Spending Act of 2016, repeals the IRS’s authority to spend the user fees it collects and requires the Treasury to deposit these funds into a general fund that will be used for improving taxpayer services
- H.R. 1206, No Hires for the Delinquent IRS Act, suspends the hiring of new IRS employees unless the Secretary of the Treasury certifies that no IRS employees have serious delinquencies with respect to their own tax obligations
Way and Means Committee Holds Hearing on Tax Reform: Today, the House Ways and Means Committee held a hearing regarding legislative proposals for reforming the current tax system. The testimony included:
- Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) discussed his bill, the Tax Code Termination Act. This proposal ends the current tax code after December 31, 2019 and requires Congress to adopt a new federal tax system by July of the same year.
- Roger Williams (R-TX) testified in support of his proposal, the Jumpstart America Act, which includes six separate pieces of legislation. His proposal lays out an income tax reform plan that taxes individuals under a two-bracket system at 20% and 30%, repeals the estate tax, and reduces the corporate income tax rate to 20%.
Commissioner Koskinen Testifies Before Small Business Committee: Today, IRS Commissioner John Koskinen testified before the House Small Business Committee for a hearing titled “Keep It Simple: Small Business Tax Simplification and Reform, the Commissioner Responds.” The hearing focused on areas of substantive and administrative complexity for small businesses and possible solutions.
Tax Administrations Meet on 'Panama Papers': Today, a special meeting of the Joint International Tax Shelter Information and Collaboration (JITSIC) Network took place at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in Paris to discuss information sharing and cooperation after the release of the “Panama Papers.” The meeting comprised senior tax officials from countries worldwide who will ensure follow up in accordance with their respective domestic laws and information-sharing agreements.