Taxpayer First Act of 2018
Latest action. Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
Taxpayer First Act of 2018
This bill modifies several administrative procedures and policies of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
The bill includes provisions regarding
programs that assist taxpayers in filing returns;
relief from joint and several liability for a joint tax return;
whistle-blower protections;
the retention of electronic records;
rehiring, removing, or transferring IRS employees;
limitations on the access of non-IRS employees to tax returns and return information;
the filing requirements for tax-exempt organizations;
IRS audit criteria;
protections against identity theft and tax refund fraud;
penalties for the improper disclosure or use of information by preparers of tax returns;
transferring appropriations between IRS accounts to combat tax fraud;
streamlined critical pay authority for certain IRS information technology positions;
an Internet platform for Form 1099 filings; and
the electronic filing of tax returns.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on July 19, 2018. 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 July 19, 2018: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the Senate
- Passage by the House
- 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 115th Congress (2017-18), 442 of the 11,421 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 3.9 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?
ORRIN HATCH (R-UT) introduced it on July 19, 2018, and 13 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 6 Democrats, 7 Republicans.
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 July 19, 2018, 2975 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 2975 days ago, on July 19, 2018.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 115th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2019 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
- SenateIn committee, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers