Jun 25, 2019

The Taxpayer First Act

The Taxpayer First Act (TFA), which the House passed on June 10, 2019, and the Senate passed on June 13, 2019 will enhance the IRS’ ability to combat tax fraud. The whistleblower provisions in the TFA protect whistleblowers from retaliation and improve the IRS whistleblower program by authorizing the IRS to communicate with whistleblowers during the processing of their claims, while also protecting taxpayer privacy. The TFA also includes several provisions protecting taxpayers and modernizing and reforming the IRS. Those reforms include: (1) establishing an independent office of appeals within the IRS, (2) protecting taxpayers from tax ID theft; (3) requiring the IRS to redesign the structure of the agency to improve efficiency, modernize technology systems, enhance cyber security and better meet taxpayer needs; and (4) putting in place new safeguards to protect taxpayers against recent IRS enforcement abuses of “structuring laws.”