WASHINGTON — Today, Congressman Ronny Jackson (TX-13) introduced the Rural Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Accountability Act to make tax filing easier for Americans who live in rural areas and to provide much needed oversight of the IRS.

Jackson said: “For too long, rural America has been taken advantage of by the IRS, an organization with a history of political targeting. People in rural communities, like many of my constituents, face a variety of challenges when dealing with the federal government, and it’s my goal to ease those burdens. The IRS has long gotten away with the status quo and a lack of accountability, but that stops now. The Rural IRS Accountability Act will open up new options for Americans to challenge the IRS and make the payment process easier, in addition to holding the IRS to a higher standard and identifying additional ways to help rural America.” 

Background:

The Rural IRS Accountability Act includes four key provisions:

• Requires the IRS to take extra steps to communicate with everyday Americans, making them more aware of their balances and how taxpayers can avoid penalties,
• Provides greater flexibility for taxpayers to file a lawsuit against the IRS if they are a victim of an IRS employee disregarding the Internal Revenue Code,
• Makes it easier for taxpayers to make payments electronically instead of through the mail for time-sensitive documents, and
• Mandates a study be conducted to determine additional ways the tax filing process can be improved for Americans who live in rural areas.

Text of the bill can be found here.

###