Sponsors (2)
The bill centralizes and clarifies legal authority for in‑office counsel under the National Taxpayer Advocate—potentially improving independent taxpayer representation—while risking reduced legal support for local advocate offices and creating retroactive administrative or legal complexity.
Federal employees in the centralized Office of the Taxpayer Advocate gain clearer statutory authority to have in‑office counsel who report directly to the National Taxpayer Advocate, strengthening independent legal support for taxpayer advocacy.
Taxpayers involved in disputes with the IRS may receive more robust, independent representation and oversight because the Advocate can field dedicated counsel.
IRS officials, taxpayers, and records custodians may face legal and administrative complexity because the bill's retroactive effective date (back to 1998) could require review or adjustment of prior actions and records.
Local Taxpayer Advocate office staff and local stakeholders could lose access to legal support or autonomy if the bill limits dedicated‑counsel authority to the centralized Office of the Taxpayer Advocate.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Authorizes the National Taxpayer Advocate to appoint in-house counsel reporting directly to the Advocate and clarifies that covered employees include any Office of the Taxpayer Advocate employee.
Creates an explicit authority for the National Taxpayer Advocate to appoint in-house counsel who report directly to the Advocate (or a delegate) and clarifies that covered employees include any employee of the Office of the Taxpayer Advocate. It also redesignates an existing subclause to accommodate the new appointment authority. The change is applied retroactively to the enactment of the IRS Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998.
Introduced February 5, 2025 by Randy Feenstra · Last progress April 1, 2025