Tax Court Improvement Act
Floor Speech
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Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5349) to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to improve services provided to taxpayers by the Internal Revenue Service by providing greater judicial review, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows: H.R. 5349
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; ETC.
(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Tax Court Improvement Act''.
(b) Amendment of 1986 Code.--Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever in this Act an amendment is expressed in terms of an amendment to a section or other provision, the reference shall be considered to be made to a section or other provision of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
(c) Table of Contents.--The table of contents of this Act is as follows: Sec. 1. Short title; etc. Sec. 2. Authorization of subpoenas before hearings to facilitate settlements. Sec. 3. Authorization of special trial judges to hear additional cases and address contempt. Sec. 4. Disqualification of judges and special trial judges. Sec. 5. Clarification of Tax Court jurisdiction to apply equitable tolling in deficiency cases. SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION OF SUBPOENAS BEFORE HEARINGS TO FACILITATE SETTLEMENTS.
Section 7456(a) is amended to read as follows:
``(a) In General.--
``(1) Administration of oaths.--For the efficient administration of the functions vested in the Tax Court or any division thereof, any judge or special trial judge, the clerk or the clerk's deputies, as such, or any other employee of the Tax Court designated in writing for the purpose by the chief judge, may administer oaths or affirmations.
``(2) Subpoena authority.--Any judge or special trial judge may examine witnesses and require, by subpoena ordered by the Tax Court or any division thereof and signed by the judge or special trial judge (or by the clerk of the Tax Court or by any other employee of the Tax Court when acting as deputy clerk), any of the following:
``(A) The attendance of parties or witnesses.
``(B) The production of books, papers, documents, electronically stored information, or tangible things from any place in the United States by any party or witness having custody or control thereof for purposes of discovery or for use of the things produced as evidence in accordance with the rules and orders of the Tax Court. Any such subpoena shall be issued and served, and compliance therewith shall be compelled, as provided in the rules and orders of the Tax Court.
``(3) Depositions.--Pursuant to rules and orders of the Court, the deposition of a witness may be taken before any designated individual competent to administer oaths under this title. Any deposition testimony shall be reduced to writing by the individual taking the deposition, or under such individual's direction, and shall be subscribed by the deponent.''. SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF SPECIAL TRIAL JUDGES TO HEAR ADDITIONAL CASES AND ADDRESS CONTEMPT.
(a) Consent to Assignment.--Section 7443A(b) is amended by striking ``and'' at the end of paragraph (6), by redesignating paragraph (7) as paragraph (8), and by inserting after paragraph (6) the following new paragraph:
``(7) upon the consent of the parties, and pursuant to rules promulgated by the Tax Court, any proceeding not described in paragraphs (1) through (6), and'', and
(b) Authorizing Special Trial Judge.--Section 7443A(c) is amended by striking ``or (6)'' and inserting ``(6), or (7)''.
(c) Contempt Authority.--Section 7443A is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
``(f) Incidental Powers.--A special trial judge appointed under this section shall have the power to punish for contempt of the authority of the Tax Court as provided in section 7456(c), except the sentence imposed by such a special trial judge for any contempt shall not exceed the penalties for a Class C misdemeanor as set forth in sections 3571(b)(6) and 3581(b)(8) of title 18, United States Code. This subsection shall not be construed to limit the authority of a special trial judge to order sanctions under any other statute or any rule of the Tax Court prescribed pursuant to section 7453.''.
(d) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsections (a) and (b) shall take effect on the date the United States Tax Court adopts rules implementing the consent procedures of section 7443A. SEC. 4. DISQUALIFICATION OF JUDGES AND SPECIAL TRIAL JUDGES.
(a) In General.--Part II of subchapter C of chapter 76 is amended by adding at the end the following new section: ``SEC. 7467. DISQUALIFICATION OF JUDGE OR SPECIAL TRIAL JUDGE.
``Section 455 of title 28, United States Code, shall apply to judges, special trial judges, and proceedings of the Tax Court.''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections for such part is amended by adding at the end the following new item: ``Sec. 7467. Disqualification of judge or special trial judge.''. SEC. 5. CLARIFICATION OF TAX COURT JURISDICTION TO APPLY EQUITABLE TOLLING IN DEFICIENCY CASES.
(a) In General.--Section 7451(b) is amended to read as follows:
``(b) Tolling of Time.--
``(1) In general.--The Tax Court shall have jurisdiction to toll the period for filing a petition under section 6213(a) in cases in which the Tax Court determines based on the facts and circumstances that equity warrants such tolling.
``(2) Rules for inaccessible filing locations.--
``(A) In general.--Notwithstanding any other provision of this title, in any case (including by reason of a lapse in appropriations) in which a filing location is inaccessible or otherwise unavailable to the general public on the date a petition is due, the relevant time period for filing such petition shall be tolled for the number of days within the period of inaccessibility plus an additional 14 days.
``(B) Filing location.--For purposes of this paragraph, the term `filing location' means--
``(i) the office of the clerk of the Tax Court, or
``(ii) any on-line portal made available by the Tax Court for electronic filing of petitions.''.
(b) Conforming Amendment.--Section 7459(d) is amended--
(1) by striking ``If a petition'' and inserting the following:
``(1) In general.--If a petition'', and
(2) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
``(2) Exception.--Paragraph (1) shall not apply with respect to any dismissal which is solely based on a determination of the Tax Court not to toll the period for filing a petition under section 6213(a).''.
(c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall apply to filings made after the date of the enactment of this Act.
(d) No Inference.--The amendment made by subsections (a) shall not be construed to create any inference with respect to the jurisdiction of the Tax Court with respect to any petition filed on or before the date of the enactment of this Act.
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Mr. SMITH of Missouri.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the Tax Court Improvement Act, bipartisan legislation introduced by Representatives Nathaniel Moran and Terri Sewell. As a former judge, Congressman Moran knows the importance of fully protecting Americans' legal rights and due process, and I appreciate his leadership on this issue.
This bill strengthens taxpayer rights during judicial proceedings before the U.S. Tax Court.
The court will be able to more expeditiously resolve cases as the legislation enhances the efficiency of its judicial review to the benefit of the taxpayer. This will increase the court's productivity, and Tax Court judges will also be held to the same disqualification standards as other judges. Finally, the court will now have the ability to extend taxpayer deadlines where timely filing is impractical.
The U.S. Tax Court is the only venue where taxpayers can dispute a tax estimate without first paying that tax. Taxpayers must stand on equal footing when going toe-to-toe with the IRS. Without the guarantee of rights, taxpayers are put in a situation where the IRS is essentially saying: Heads, I win. Tails, you lose.
Mr. Speaker, the Ways and Means Committee has been working tirelessly to strengthen taxpayer rights. This year alone, the committee has approved several pieces of legislation giving taxpayers fairer treatment. The Tax Court Improvement Act is another one of these solutions.
The IRS is the most feared Federal agency for good reason, but we are working to change that. In addition to pursuing partisan aims, it has a long-documented history of treating taxpayer rights as mere suggestions.
This bill will give taxpayers more confidence and greater protections when litigating their case before the U.S. Tax Court.
Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Moran and Congresswoman Sewell for championing taxpayer rights. This bill received total support in the Ways and Means Committee, and I urge all my colleagues to do the same here in the House.
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