Grassley: Taxpayer Advocate on IRS Challenges With Social Benefit Programs Foreshadows Health Care Reform Administration

Press Release

Sen. Chuck Grassley, ranking member of the Committee on Finance, with Senate jurisdiction over tax policy, today made the following comment on the national taxpayer advocate's annual report to Congress and its implications for health care reform.

"The taxpayer advocate's report has a long discussion of the IRS' burden of administering "tax-based social benefit programs.' The advocate says if the burden of administering new such programs is "excessive, it could impair the IRS's ability to deliver on its core tax-collection mission.' She goes on to say, "Implementing these provisions without adequate notice and resources will strain IRS systems and will likely lead the agency to divert resources from its core functions.'

"Left unsaid is that administering health care reform will be the biggest tax-based social benefit program the IRS and the taxpayers have ever seen. It will be much bigger and affect millions more taxpayers than current programs such as the earned income tax credit, which has been problematic in itself. Maybe the advocate's warning about the consequences of poor preparation will register with the White House, Treasury, the IRS and Democratic congressional leaders. I've been beating that drum on health reform for weeks, especially thinking about the impact on taxpayers and the level of frustration they'll face in dealing with the IRS. Unfortunately I've gotten only a lackadaisical response so far."

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