Improving Assistance for Taxpayers Act
Latest action. Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
Improving Assistance for Taxpayers Act
This bill requires the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to respond to Taxpayer Advocate Directives within specified time frames.
In the case of a Taxpayer Advocate Directive issued by the National Taxpayer Advocate (NTA) pursuant to a delegation of authority from the IRS, the IRS Commissioner or a Deputy Commissioner must modify, rescind, or ensure compliance with the directive within 90 days.
If a directive is modified or rescinded by a Deputy Commissioner, the NTA may appeal to the Commissioner. Within 90 days of the appeal, the Commissioner must either ensure compliance with the directive or provide a description of the reasons for any modification or rescission made or upheld pursuant to the appeal.
The bill also requires the NTA annual report to identify any directive that was not honored by the IRS in a timely manner, as required by this bill.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on March 18, 2019. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on March 18, 2019: Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 116th Congress (2019-20), 344 of the 14,345 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 2.4 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Darin LaHood (R-IL) introduced it on March 18, 2019, and 1 member has since signed on as a cosponsor.
They are 1 Democrat.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on March 18, 2019, 2733 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 2733 days ago, on March 18, 2019.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 116th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2021 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers