Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 110 Part 2.djvu/662

 110 STAT. 1454 PUBLIC LAW 104-168-JULY 30, 1996 Exempt Organizations)) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection: Establishment. "(d) OFFICE OF TAXPAYER ADVOCATE.— Government "(1) IN GENERAL.— T here is established in the Internal organization. Revenue Service an office to be known as the 'Office of the Taxpayer Advocate'. Such office shall be under the supervision and direction of an official to be known as the Taxpayer Advocate' who shall be appointed by and report directly to the Commissioner of Internal Revenue. The Taxpayer Advocate shall be entitled to compensation at the same rate as the highest level official reporting directly to the Deputy Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service. " (2) FUNCTIONS OF OFFICE. — "(A) IN GENERAL.—It shall be the function of the Office of Taxpayer Advocate to— "(i) assist taxpayers in resolving problems with the Internal Revenue Service, "(ii) identify areas in which taxpayers have problems in dealings with the Internal Revenue Service, "(iii) to the extent possible, propose changes in the administrative practices of the Internal Revenue Service to mitigate problems identified under clause (ii), and "(iv) identify potential legislative changes which may be appropriate to mitigate such problems. " (B) ANNUAL REPORTS.— "(i) OBJECTIVES. —Not later than June 30 of each calendar year after 1995, the Taxpayer Advocate shall report to the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Finance of the Senate on the objectives of the Teixpayer Advocate for the fiscal year beginning in such calendar year. Any such report shall contain full and substantive analysis, in addition to statistical information. "(ii) ACTIVITIES.— Not later than December 31 of each calendar year after 1995, the Taxpayer Advocate shall report to the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Finance of the Senate on the activities of the Taxpayer Advocate during the fiscal year ending during such calendar year. Any such report shall contain full and substantive analysis, in addition to statistical information, and shall— "(I) identify the initiatives the Taxpayer Advocate has taken on improving taxpayer services and Internal Revenue Service responsiveness, "(II) contain recommendations received from individuals with the authority to issue Taxpayer Assistsmce Orders under section 7811, "(III) contain a summary of at least 20 of the most serious problems encountered by taxpayers, including a description of the nature of such problems, "(IV) contain an inventory of the items described in subclauses (I), (II), and (III) for which action has been taken and the result of such action.

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