Sponsors (2)
The bill strengthens the Office of the Taxpayer Advocate's legal independence and removes uncertainty about prior authority, at the cost of modest additional IRS administrative expense and some reduction in local staffing flexibility.
Federal taxpayers and federal employees: the Office of the Taxpayer Advocate is explicitly authorized to have in‑house counsel who report directly to its head, strengthening independent legal support for the office.
Taxpayers and federal employees: the change is backdated to the 1998 enactment, removing legal uncertainty about prior appointments and the office's authority.
Federal employees: clarifying that certain staff are employees of the Office of the Taxpayer Advocate standardizes staffing and may improve coordination across offices.
Taxpayers: creating and supporting in‑house counsel positions could increase IRS administrative costs that are ultimately taxpayer‑funded.
Federal employees/local offices: centralizing staff under the Office of the Taxpayer Advocate may reduce local office autonomy and staffing flexibility.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Gives the National Taxpayer Advocate explicit authority to appoint in‑house counsel in the Office of the Taxpayer Advocate who report directly to the Advocate (or their delegate) and clarifies that affected personnel are employees of the Office rather than of local taxpayer advocate offices. The bill also designates a short title for the Act and makes the change effective retroactively to the enactment of the IRS restructuring law from 1998.
Introduced February 5, 2025 by Randy Feenstra · Last progress April 1, 2025