IRS creates new office to implement Taxpayer First Act

Any time a new tax law is enacted, the IRS is responsible for ensuring the provisions of the new law are met. Such as the case with the Taxpayer First Act (TFA). A recent memo to IRS employees from Commissioner Charles Rettig outlined his plans to ensure the provisions of the TFA are fulfilled while providing “best in class” services to everyone who reaches out to the IRS for assistance.

To meet this challenge, Commissioner Rettig appointed his Chief of Staff Lia Colbert to launch and lead the TFA Office. In addition, Lisa Beard, former acting deputy commissioner of SB/SE, Rob Ragano, associate CIO for Applications Development in IT, and Jim Clifford, director of Customer Account Services in W&I, will be joining Lia to oversee the implementation of the TFA’s provisions.

The TFA was signed into law on July 1, 2019, and aims to protect taxpayers from tax-related identity theft by allowing all taxpayers to obtain an Identity Protection Personal Identification Number (IP PIN). The act also establishes an independent office of appeals, includes provisions to exempt low-income taxpayers from the IRS’s private debt collection program and other measures aimed to improve overall IRS customer service.