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13.1.1.2
(04-01-2003)
Philosophy of Advocacy
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As part of the IRS, TAS has the responsibility
to help bridge the gap for those taxpayers who have unresolved issues or problems.
TAS advocates for:
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EACH taxpayer, by working with the Operating and
Functional Divisions through the Operations Assistance Request (OAR) process
and the Taxpayer Assistance Order (TAO) Process, and
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ALL taxpayers, by making legislative and administrative
recommendations to the appropriate business owner.
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TAS strives to exemplify professional and ethical
behavior. Effective advocacy will benefit both the taxpayer and the IRS.
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TAS is composed of advocate ombudsmen. The key
characteristics of advocate ombudsmen are independence, impartiality and confidentiality.
Advocacy is not just about recommending legislative and procedural changes,
but it is also about applying advocacy attributes to each taxpayer's case.
An advocate conducts an independent and impartial analysis of all information
relevant to the taxpayer's problem. Advocates are professionals who are able
to:
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Listen to the taxpayer's position;
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Investigate;
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Evaluate;
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Correct the situation;
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Request the IRS take a second look;
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Advise the taxpayer of their options.
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An advocate's goal is to provide quality service
to the taxpayer and elevate issues when appropriate.
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The mission of the TAS is to help taxpayers resolve
problems with the IRS and to recommend changes to prevent the problems. The
organization fulfills its mission through two types of advocacy— case-related
and systemic. TAS not only handles cases in which a taxpayer is suffering
or about to suffer a significant hardship, but it also handles cases in which
the taxpayers in solving problems with the IRS benefit from TAS involvement,
even though the taxpayer is not individually experiencing a hardship. Where
TAS cannot provide a remedy for taxpayers because of deficiencies in administrative
procedures or barriers imposed by the tax law, TAS will propose administrative
solutions of legislative changes, as appropriate.
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To support the Mission and Vision statements,
TAS has articulated roles and responsibilities for all of its managers and
employees. TAS will:
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Advocate on behalf of individual and business taxpayers
in disputes with the IRS after making an impartial assessment of the taxpayer's
situation;
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Quickly and accurately address taxpayer problems
when there is a failure of systems, policies, or procedures;
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Operate with the utmost independence while continuing
to work toward the IRS mission;
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Continuously drive procedural, systemic, and legislative
change to benefit taxpayers;
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Effectively communicate with and educate stakeholders
and taxpayers to ensure awareness of the TAS, and;
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Solicit feedback from taxpayers and key stakeholders
about IRS problems.
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In addition to serving taxpayers one at a time,
the NTA also serves all taxpayers by reporting regularly to the Congress of
the United States. The Systemic Advocacy (SA) organization carries out the
second part of the TAS mission statement, which is to
"recommend
changes that will prevent problems."
It is the responsibility of the
NTA to keep Congress fully up to date on the success of the TAS in resolving
taxpayer problems, as well as to report any systemic issues that may be adversely
affecting taxpayers. To accomplish this, the NTA publishes two reports a year
that are submitted to the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance
Committee.
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