Testimony before IRS oversight board on reducing taxpayer burden; January 29, 2002.

On January 29, 2002, TEI President Robert L. Ashby testified before the IRS Oversight Board on reducing taxpayer burden. The testimony is reprinted below.

Good afternoon. I am Bob Ashby, Vice President, Taxation (U.S.) for Nortel Networks in Nashville, Tennessee. I appear before you today as the President of Tax Executives Institute, the preeminent association of corporate tax professionals in North America. I am accompanied by the Institute's Executive Director, Timothy McCormally, and by our General Counsel and Director of Tax Affairs, Fred Murray. The Institute is pleased to participate in the panel on reducing taxpayer burden.

Background

Tax Executives Institute was established in 1944 to serve the professional needs of in-house tax practitioners. Today, the Institute has 53 chapters in the United States, Canada, and Europe. Our 5,200 members are accountants, attorneys, and other business professionals who work for the largest 2,800 companies in the United States and Canada; they are responsible for conducting the tax affairs of their companies and ensuring their compliance with the tax laws. Hence, TEI represents the business community as a whole, and our members deal with the tax code in all its complexity, as well as with the Internal Revenue Service, on almost a daily basis. TEI 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.

The companies that employ TEI's members have almost without exception been assigned to the IRS's Large and Mid-Size Business (LMSB) Division. The largest 1,600 taxpayers within LMSB are subject to ongoing audits as part of the Coordinated Industry Cases (CIC) program. This testimony is largely based upon our experience with this segment of IRS operations. For example, whereas in some sectors the IRS may be more focused on enforcement efforts, for TEI's constituency LMSB promises more effective and efficient examinations, as well as a more pronounced customer-service orientation. We also offer our views on reducing taxpayer (and government) burden and improving operations within LMSB.

The Need for Innovative Ways of Doing Business

LMSB has several projects underway to improve efficiency that can serve as a model for future improvements in that division, and in other areas of IRS operations. In addition, the IRS should consider...