Bill > S1177

This bill, the Small Business Taxpayer Bill of Rights Act of 2023, aims to provide additional protections and rights for small businesses in their interactions with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Key provisions of the bill include: 1. Modifying the standards for awarding costs and certain fees, allowing eligible small businesses (with average annual gross receipts of up to $50 million) to recover costs without regard to net worth limitations. 2. Increasing the amount of civil damages that can be claimed for reckless or intentional disregard of internal revenue laws, and extending the time to bring such actions. 3. Increasing penalties for certain offenses by IRS officers and employees, and indexing these penalties for inflation. 4. Increasing the amount of civil damages for unauthorized inspection or disclosure of tax returns and return information, and extending the time to bring such actions. 5. Prohibiting ex parte communications between IRS Independent Office of Appeals and other IRS employees, with potential termination of employment for violations. 6. Providing taxpayers the right to an independent conference with the IRS Independent Office of Appeals. 7. Requiring the IRS to make alternative dispute resolution procedures, including mediation and arbitration, more widely available to taxpayers. 8. Banning the IRS from raising new issues on appeal that were not part of the initial determination. 9. Placing limitations on the enforcement of tax liens against a taxpayer's principal residence. The bill aims to enhance taxpayer protections and increase accountability within the IRS for its interactions with small business taxpayers.

Budget and Finance

https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/senate-bill/1177/all-info