Ways and Means Moves 12 IRS Reform Bills, Many With Technology Focus

With Tax Day looming on April 17, congressional Republicans last week continued their ongoing push to remake the Internal Revenue Service, with the House Ways and Means Committee clearing a dozen tax-related bills for possible floor action this week. “The committee is taking the biggest and boldest step in 20 years to redesign this agency into a place with one singular mission: taxpayer service,” the panel said in a joint statement after the bipartisan vote on April 11. “We’re laying out the guardrails and architecture of what a new IRS would look like and require them to bring back the [1998] restructuring plan,” added Chairman Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Texas, touting bills as remedies for long wait times at call centers, property seizure “abuse” and outdated information technology.