Tax Justice Warriors

Nina Olson is a recent recipient of the 2019 Janet Spragens Pro Bono Award.  She is also convening the 4^th International Conference on Taxpayer Rights May 22-24, 2019, at University of Minnesota School of Law.  The biggest news is that she announced her retirement from being National Taxpayer Advocate on July 31, 2019.  I spend the episode discussing these items.  She has done so much for several programs, including the IRS, the Low Income Taxpayer Clinics, the Taxpayer Advocate Service and low income taxpayers.

An interview with Andrew Belter, new LITC Director for Legal Aid Society of Milwaukee.  In part two, he asks me questions about running an LITC, then we discuss goals for the year and we talk about dealing with our state departments of revenue.  I apologize if his audio is hard to understand - I'm still getting the hand of this!

An interview with Andrew Belter, new LITC Director for Legal Aid Society of Milwaukee.  In part one, I ask questions of him for his background and experience in legal aid organizations.  I apologize if his audio is hard to understand - I'm still getting the hand of this!

Today brought good news and bad news on the political front.  I’m just here with the good news – the IRS got to avoid another government shutdown.  Also, earlier this week the National Taxpayer Advocate (Nina Olson) released her Annual Report to Congress.  It was due in January but was delayed because of the government shutdown.  The Annual Report provides Most Serious Problems and Recommendations to Congress.  This year has the second Purple Book, a concise summary of 58 legislative recommendations.  Something new for 2019 in the Most Serious Problems section is The Taxpayer Journey, graphics and roadmaps illustrating the issues that taxpayer have in dealing with the Internal Revenue Service.  The Taxpayer Advocate Service conducts research and related studies.  The results in this report are hundreds of pages advocating for improvements Congress can make within the IRS to help the average taxpayer.  Check it out here:  https://taxpayeradvocate.irs.gov/2018AnnualReport

The government shutdown has effects on the IRS.  They were backlogged in several departments and the shutdown made things worse.  If you were an IRS employee facing retirement who had pay issues and backlogs from the shutdown, would you want to go back to work?  Several IRS employees deciding to retire early means the IRS is losing their workforce and institutional knowledge.

We have an end to the government shutdown!  We have been promised 3 weeks.  What will happen on February 15?  How will mail held for the Tax Court during the shutdown or returned to petitioners be treated?  This episode examines the effects of the government shutdown on petitions filed during with Tax Court during that time.  I also provide a summary of effects on taxpayers from the shutdown.

Happy Earned Income Tax Credit Awareness Day!  Month two of the partial government shutdown!  This episode looks at state income tax, comparing the Kansas Department of Revenue with other states like Indiana and Missouri and with the IRS.  How does it compare when it comes to relief for low income taxpayers?  Also, an update on IRS and Tax Court during the government shutdown.

Welcome to the longest U.S. government shutdown with furloughed federal government workers in history!  Is it time to celebrate?  The Tax Court has cancelled trial sessions during the government shutdown, the IRS updated their contingency plan for increasing workers during the tax season, and the IRS increased their interest rate for outstanding tax liabilities.  While we have these updates, there are still not many specifics for conducting business with the IRS during the government shutdown.  Don't break out the party favors just yet.

The IRS announced that tax season will begin on January 28, 2019.  The Trump administration also announced that refunds will be issued during the tax season even if that overlaps with the government shutdown.  For the tax season, there are workers who will not be furloughed any longer though they will still work without pay.  Does that mean the rest of the IRS will be on furlough?  I also discuss the private tax collection agencies contracted to work IRS collections cases.  Are they now working cases without IRS guidance?  The government shutdown seems to bring more questions than answers as it comes closer to being the longest government shutdown with furloughed employees.

The longest United States government shutdown with employees furloughed lasted 21 days, from December 15, 1995 through January 6, 1996.  Will we beat the record?  This episode is posted on day 14 of the current shutdown.  The episode discusses how the IRS is functioning during the current government shutdown.