Tax Collection Responsibility Act of 2007

Floor Speech

TAX COLLECTION RESPONSIBILITY ACT OF 2007 -- (Extensions of Remarks - October 16, 2007)

SPEECH OF HON. BETTY McCOLLUM OF MINNESOTA IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2007

* Ms. McCOLLUM of Minnesota. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the Tax Collection Responsibility Act of 2007. This legislation will put a stop to the use of private debt collection agencies to collect federal income taxes and ensure that this critical government function is performed by public servants on behalf of American taxpayers.

* The small proportion of individuals who do not pay their taxes does increase the burden for the rest of the responsible, law-abiding Americans. In 2004 Congress attempted to hold these people accountable by authorizing a pilot private debt collection program for debts owed to the Internal Revenue Service. While this program was intended to be a more efficient way to collect unpaid taxes, it has proven to be a failure.

* We have found that some of the private debt collection agencies are nothing short of bounty hunters, who use harassment to collect debts. Our constituents deserve to know that the person contacting them on behalf of the Federal Government is a public-servant, who is held to the highest standards of accountability and confidentiality, not a person whose paycheck depends solely on the number of collections they make.

* In addition to the use of heavy-handed and abusive tactics to collect unpaid taxes, private tax collection agencies have also shown themselves to be significantly less efficient than the IRS agents who should be doing this work in the first place. This program has cost the American taxpayers $71 million, but has only collected $20 million, for a net loss of over $50 million. The IRS's National Taxpayer Advocate testified that for the same $71 million investment, the IRS would have collected around $1.4 billion. It simply does not make sense to waste public funds in this manner.

* The Republican motion to recommit on this legislation would add to the bill a wholesale repeal of the estate tax. Repealing the estate tax would be fiscally irresponsible and break the promise this Congress made to the American people to work towards a balanced budget. Since its adoption would make the bill violate the House PAYGO rules, this motion is clearly nothing more than a political move to kill the underlying bill. This motion to recommit shows where the Republican Party's priorities are; the estate tax currently affects less than two percent of the wealthiest estates. A full repeal would require that taxes on millions of working Americans be raised and that Social Security and Medicare benefits for American seniors be reduced. I will continue to support a responsible approach to reducing the estate tax that provides relief for families without burdening future generations with additional deficit spending.

* Mr. Speaker, it is unacceptable that the IRS outsources a function as central to the Federal Government as tax-collection. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 3056.

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