Twelve bipartisan measures to restructure and reform the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) were approved this week by the House Ways and Means Committee and could reach the House floor by tax day, April 17.

The bills would dramatically redesign the structure of the IRS and refocus it as a ‘taxpayer first’ agency, according to Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady (R-TX).

“They advance a modern vision for the IRS so taxpayers are treated fairly, their disputes are handled objectively, and issues resolved quickly and more affordably,” said Brady at a recent hearing on the matter.

The changes in the bills include: directing the IRS to develop a new online portal for taxpayers to fill out 1099 forms; allowing taxpayers to use debit or credit cards to pay taxes; and limiting the IRS’s ability to seize the assets of businesses which have not committed a crime but are merely suspected by the IRS of evading reporting requirements.

The IRS would also have to submit a plan to Congress to revamp its organizational structure, which is expected to trigger the most sweeping changes to the agency since a similar effort took effect in 1998.

The IRS budget has been reduced for almost ten years and the agency has experienced a staff reduction by about 18,000 employees from 2010 to 2017.  A recent report showed that only about sixty percent of calls from tax filers are answered by the IRS.

The recently enacted tax reform bill significantly increased the agency’s workload, requiring it to immediately implement hundreds of complicated revisions to the tax code.

SAF will follow these developments and report on implications for business owners in the floral industry.