Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 112 Part 1.djvu/725

 PUBLIC LAW 105-206-JULY 22, 1998 112 STAT. 699 "(A) IN GENERAL. —There is established in the Internal Revenue Service an office to be known as the 'Office of the Taxpayer Advocate'. " (B) NATIONAL TAXPAYER ADVOCATE. — "(i) IN GENERAL.—The Office of the Taxpayer Advocate shall be under the supervision and direction of an official to be known as the 'National Taxpayer Advocate', The National Taxpayer Advocate shall report directly to the Commissioner of Internal Revenue and shall be entitled to compensation at the same rate as the highest rate of basic pay established for the Senior Executive Service under section 5382 of title 5, United States Code, or, if the Secretary of the Treasury so determines, at a rate fixed under section 9503 of such title. "(ii) APPOINTMENT.— The National Taxpayer Advocate shall be appointed by the Secretary of the Treasury after consultation with the Commissioner of Internal Revenue and the Oversight Board and without regard to the provisions of title 5, United States Code, relating to appointments in the competitive service or the Senior Executive Service. "(iii) QUALIFICATIONS. —An individual appointed under clause (ii) shall have— "(I) a background in customer service as well as tax law; and "(II) experience in representing individual taxpayers. "(iv) RESTRICTION ON EMPLOYMENT. —An individual may be appointed as the National Taxpayer Advocate only if such individual was not an officer or employee of the Internal Revenue Service during the 2-year period ending with such appointment and such individual agrees not to accept any employment with the Internal Revenue Service for at least 5 years after ceasing to be the National Taxpayer Advocate. Service as an officer or employee of the Office of the Taxpayer Advocate shall not be taken into account in applying this clause. " (2) FUNCTIONS OF OFFICE. — "(A) IN GENERAL.—It shall be the function of the Office of the 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 Deadline, calendar year, the National Taxpayer Advocate shall report to the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives and the Committee on

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