Notice 99-50: ex parte communications.

• Position: IRS Notice 99-50

On December 15, 1999, Tax Executives Institute filed the following comments with the Internal Revenue Service relating to Notice 99-50, which provides guidance on the prohibition on ex parte communications between IRS Appeals Officers and other IRS employees. The comments were prepared under the aegis of TEI's IRS Administrative Affairs Committee, whose chair is Robert J. McDonough, Jr. Victoria D. McInnis of General Motors Corporation, Paul O'Connor of Millipore Corporation, Loren M. Opper of Ford Motor Co., and Anthony W. Rackley of The Williams Companies materially participated in the preparation of the comments.

On behalf of Tax Executives Institute, I am pleased to submit the following comments on Notice 99-50, which provides guidance on the prohibition on ex parte communications between IRS Appeals Officers and other employees of the Internal Revenue Service. The proposed revenue procedure was issued by the IRS on September 17, 1999.

Background

Tax Executives Institute is the preeminent association of business tax executives in North America. Our approximately 5,000 members represent 2,800 of the leading corporations through 52 chapters in the United States, Canada, and Europe. TEI represents a cross-section of the business community, and is dedicated to the development and effective implementation of sound tax policy, to promoting the uniform and equitable enforcement of the tax laws, and to reducing the cost and burden of administration and compliance to the benefit of taxpayers and government alike. As a professional association, TEI is firmly committed to maintaining a tax system that works -- one that is administrable and that taxpayers can comply with in a cost-efficient manner.

Members of TEI are responsible for managing the tax affairs of their companies and must contend daily with the Internal Revenue Service and provisions of the tax law relating to the operation of business enterprises. We believe that the diversity and professional training of our members enable us to bring an important, balanced, and practical perspective to the issues raised by Notice 99-50, relating to the prohibition on ex parte communications between Appeals Officers and other IRS employees.

The Statutory Mandate

Section 1001(a) of the Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998, Pub. L. No. 105226, 112 Stat. 685, requires the Commissioner to develop and implement a plan to reorganize the IRS, including ensuring --

an independent appeals function within the Internal Revenue Service including the prohibition in the plan of ex parte communications between appeals officers and other Internal Revenue Service employees to the extent that such communications appear to compromise the independence of the appeals officers. The statute is thus not limited to acts...