Taxpayer Due Process Enhancement Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. MORAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 6506, the Taxpayer Due Process Enhancement Act, bipartisan legislation introduced alongside my colleague Congresswoman Terri Sewell to strengthen procedural protections for the American taxpayer.

This bill addresses a simple problem. Under current law, taxpayers who challenge an IRS collection action can lose important other rights and remedies simply because that process takes too long. That is not the result we want for taxpayers.

Congress has a duty to ensure that when Americans dispute a tax liability, the rules are clear, consistent, and taxpayer-friendly.

H.R. 6506 makes three important reforms to do just that.

First, it suspends the statute of limitations on refund claims while collection disputes are pending. Under current law, a taxpayer can spend years pursuing a legitimate challenge at Tax Court only to discover the clock ran out on their ability to recover an overpayment. This legislation will fix that.

Second, the bill prevents the IRS from automatically applying taxpayer overpayments against disputed liabilities during collection proceedings without the taxpayer's consent. Americans should not lose access to their own funds before receiving a full and fair review of the dispute and having that dispute settled.

Third, H.R. 6506 expands the jurisdiction of the Tax Court to ensure that taxpayers can obtain judicial review, even if the IRS later abandons the collection action. The courthouse doors should not shut out taxpayers because of procedural maneuvering and gamesmanship by the IRS.

Mr. Speaker, this legislation was reported out unanimously from the Ways and Means Committee by a vote of 41-0, proving that Members on both sides of the aisle agree that taxpayers deserve due process and fair judicial proceedings when dealing with the IRS.

For hardworking families and small business owners across east Texas and across this Nation, dealing with the IRS can already be intimidating enough. They deserve a system that is transparent, accountable, and just. They deserve someone who will stand in their corner, and this bill does just that.

No taxpayer should be at the whim of the IRS or deprived of important remedies when they have successfully disputed their case.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to stand with the taxpayers today and support H.R. 6506.

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