Tax Executives Institute-Joint Committee on Taxation liaison meeting: November 20, 1996.

On November 20, 1995, Tax Executives Institute held its annual liaison meeting with the staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation. Reprinted below is the written agenda for the meeting, which was submitted to the Joint Committee in early November. A report on the liaison meeting will be published in a future issue of The Tax Executive.

1. Introductory Comments

Tax Executives Institute is pleased to have this opportunity to meet with Chief of Staff Kenneth Kies and other representatives of the staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation. TEI's liaison meetings with the Joint Committee staff have afforded each organization an opportunity to articulate technical, policy, and process concerns and to explore how these concerns can best be addressed. We are confident that this year's meeting, focusing on the items discussed below, will be candid and productive.

2. National Commission on

   Restructuring the

   Internal Revenue Service

   As a new millennium approaches, the tax system is facing unparalleled challenges, including (1) proposals for fundamental tax reform; (2) a proliferation of calls to "end the IRS as we know it" (and "to pull the tax system out by the roots"); and (3) the chartering of a National Commission on Restructuring the Internal Revenue Service.

   As an association of tax professionals who deal with taxes on a daily basis, TEI has long been concerned about the corrosive effect that attacks on the agency's legitimacy can have on the level of voluntary compliance in the United States. We share the view that vigilant oversight of the IRS by Congress and others is absolutely necessary, but also acknowledge that the orderly collection of taxes and the efficient administration of the tax system are in the best interest of the entire country and, further, that adequate funding must be provided for those goals to be attained. Hence, we lament the sometimes virulent attacks that have been launched against the IRS and its employees. To be sure, there are flaws in the current tax system, and there are design and management issues (including those related to tax systems modernization) that must be addressed. TEI sincerely believes, however, that the focus should remain on correcting the problems, not undermining the basic legitimacy of - and hence the public's confidence in - the tax system.

   During the past few months, TEI has voiced these sentiments in statements filed with Congress and comments released to the media, and in mid-November, the Institute will underscore its views in testimony before the National Commission on Restructuring the IRS.(1) During the liaison meeting, we request a report on the Joint Committee staff's involvement, if...