IRS Accountability Act - Directs the Inspector General for Tax Administration of the Department of the Treasury to conduct annual audits of employees and service contractors of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to determine compliance with prohibitions against willful failure to file tax returns or willful understatement of tax liability. Terminates the employment or contract relationship of a service contractor who has willfully failed to file a tax return or who has willfully understated tax liability and debars such service contractor from the procurement process for five years. Prohibits the IRS from entering into a contract with a service contractor unless such contract provides for tax compliance.
[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3523 Introduced in House (IH)]
113th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3523
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide for audits of the
Internal Revenue Service to ensure that employees and service
contractors of the Internal Revenue Service file their Federal tax
returns on time and pay Federal tax debts owed.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
November 18, 2013
Mr. Kingston introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Ways and Means
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide for audits of the
Internal Revenue Service to ensure that employees and service
contractors of the Internal Revenue Service file their Federal tax
returns on time and pay Federal tax debts owed.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``IRS Accountability Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) The Internal Revenue Manual requires all Internal
Revenue Service employees, and contract employees, to file
their Federal tax returns on time and pay any Federal tax debt.
(2) The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration
reports that as of June 14, 2012, 691 of the 13,591 Internal
Revenue Service contractor employees reviewed by the Treasury
Inspector General for Tax Administration had $5.4 million in
Federal tax debt.
(3) Of the 691 contractor employees, 352 were not currently
on a payment plan to resolve their tax debt.
(4) The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration
also found that while the Internal Revenue Service reviews
employee tax compliance every year, the Internal Revenue
Service only reviews contract employee tax compliance only once
every five years or if the contract employee has had longer
than a two-year break in service.
SEC. 3. TAX COMPLIANCE BY INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE EMPLOYEES AND
CONTRACTORS.
(a) In General.--Subchapter A of chapter 80 of the Internal Revenue
Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end the following new section:
``SEC. 7811. TAX COMPLIANCE BY INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE EMPLOYEES AND
CONTRACTORS.
``(a) Employee and Contractor Tax Compliance Audits.--Not later
than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this section, and
annually thereafter, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax
Administration shall conduct annual audits of employees and service
contractors of the Internal Revenue Service to determine tax compliance
with the following acts and omissions punishable under paragraphs (8)
and (9) of section 1203(b) of the Internal Revenue Service
Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998:
``(1) willful failure to file any return of tax required
under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 on or before the date
prescribed therefor (including any extensions), unless such
failure is due to reasonable cause and not to willful neglect,
and
``(2) willful understatement of Federal tax liability,
unless such understatement is due to reasonable cause and not
to willful neglect.
``(b) Penalty.--
``(1) Internal revenue service employees.--See section 1203
of the Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform Act of
1998 for provisions relating to personnel actions against
employees of the Internal Revenue Service in case of
misconduct.
``(2) Service contractor.--If there is a final
administrative or judicial determination that a service
contractor committed an act or omission described in subsection
(a), then--
``(A) in the case of contracts entered into after
the date of the enactment of this section, the
employment or contract relationship (as the case may
be) with the service contractor, and any individual
providing services to the service contractor determined
in such determination to have committed such act or
omission, shall be terminated, and
``(B) the contractor shall be debarred for not less
than 5 years, as determined by the Secretary.
``(c) Limitation on Contract Authority.--The Internal Revenue
Service may not enter into a contract after the date of the enactment
of this section for services unless the contract contains a clause
under which the service contractor agrees to be subject to this
section.
``(d) Service Contractor.--For purposes of this section, the term
`service contractor' means any contractor providing services to the
Internal Revenue Service, including any agent of such contractor and
any subcontractor of such contractor providing such services, and any
employee or intern of any such contractor or subcontractor providing
such services.''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections for subchapter A of
chapter 80 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at
the end the following new item:
``Sec. 7811. Tax Compliance by Internal Revenue Service employees and
contractors.''.
(c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall
apply with respect to audits conducted after the date of the enactment
of this Act.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
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