The House has passed two bipartisan measures to strengthen taxpayer protections and modernize tax administration: the Fair and Accountable IRS Reviews (FAIR) Act and the Tax Court Improvement Act.

Both received overwhelming support and advanced with the same unanimous support they received in the House Ways and Means Committee in September. 

According to Reuters, the FAIR Act centers on codifying long-standing requirements relating to supervisory approval for IRS penalties. Representative Glenn Grothman said that federal law has, “for decades,” required an IRS employee to obtain written approval from their “immediate supervisor” before proposing a penalty.

A later regulatory interpretation broadened who could provide approval, reestablishes that it is the agent’s actual supervisor who must approve the penalty at the initial determination.

Representative Terri Sewell said the FAIR Act “fixes an ongoing controversy regarding tax penalties and IRS supervisory approvals,” while Ways and Means Chair Jason Smith said that allowing agents to “shop around for any other employee” undermined the principle of proper oversight. 

The Tax Court Improvement Act makes a series of updates to procedure aimed at making the process more efficient and fair. It allows the Tax Court to grant additional time to file documents, broadens the scope of special trial judges, and imposes federal standards for recusal on judges of the Tax Court. It also provides subpoena authority to aid in case resolution.

Representative Nathaniel Moran said that outdated procedures have bogged the system down, adding that “when a system is slow or confusing, the burden falls on taxpayers.”

Both bills earned praise from groups such as the National Taxpayers Union, SBEC, and the Taxpayers Protection Alliance for changes that were long overdue to bring consistency, accessibility, and fairness to tax administration.