Letter to Hon. Steve Mnuchin, Secretary of the Department of the Treasury; Hon. Charles Rettig, Commissioner of the IRS - Sens. Cramer, Kennedy, Colleagues Call on Administration to Waive Tax Filing Penalties for Those Delayed by COVID-19

Letter

Dear Secretary Mnuchin and Commissioner Rettig:The pandemic has created unique challenges for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), tax practitioners,and taxpayers alike.It is clear that Americans need aconcerted effort by the IRS to work in good faith with them to address the challenges facing taxpayersduring this pandemic. We write because more action is needed to alleviate the burdens placedon taxpayers and their advisors, and we urge you todirect the IRStotake the followingadditionalactions immediately to provide late filing and payment relief to taxpayers as a result ofthe COVID-19 pandemic:*Create a special COVID-19 First Time Abatement option for taxpayers eligible for normal First Time Abatement in which the taxpayersor their representative can attest to filing difficulty as a direct result of the pandemic and keep the normal First Time Abatement available for future use, and provide IRS Customer Service Representatives examples of such difficulties, such as no Volunteer Income Tax Assistance available;*Provide written guidance directing IRS Customer Service Representatives to grant reasonable cause and COVID-related abatement requests liberally and reaffirming that these requests should be resolved orally when possible in orderto provide targeted relief to taxpayers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic without the need for written requests;*Develop specific coronavirus-relatedexamples that qualify for reasonable cause abatement and share these examples with all IRS Customer Service Representativesthrough interim guidance; and*Develop a dedicated telephone number, or dedicated prompt, for taxpayers or their advisors to call to request coronavirus-related penalty relief.We appreciate the efforts the IRS has taken to resolve the mail backlog, althoughit still stands at approximately 3 million pieces. We urge the IRS to consider stopping the practice of issuing Notices of Intent to Levy and other compliance correspondence until the mail backlog is resolved at all IRS processing centers to limit taxpayer confusion and reduce unnecessary correspondence with the IRS.Many taxpayers arefacing economic hardships,and business closures due to COVID-19. Taxpayersexpect fair treatment from their government,and the current unwillingness to provide
an expedited process for taxpayers and their advisors to request pandemic-specific reliefplaces an undue burden on them.We ask that you move to address theseissues immediatelyso the American people can receive the relief they urgently need.

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