FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Press Release #105-179
September 24, 1997

TAXPAYERS TELL THEIR STORIES TO THE FINANCE COMMITTEE

WASHINGTON -- Four taxpayers today told the Senate Finance Committee of unfair treatment at the hands of the Internal Revenue Service. The taxpayers were only a handful of the more than 1,600 Americans who have contacted Chairman Roth with their concerns about IRS conduct in the past months -- more than 500 in just the past two days.

Senator Roth made the following statement to introduce the four taxpayers to the committeee today:

"Now we will hear from four taxpayers about their experiences in dealing with the IRS.

"There is a common theme in three of these cases: The inability of the IRS to perform a simple administrative task and the lack of will by the IRS to correct the problem. Then a parade of horrors is unleashed against the taxpayer.

"We will hear from Monsignor Lawrence Ballweg how he was unable to get a copy of his tax filing within a reasonable time so that he could respond to the IRS's allegation that he owed thousands of dollars of tax.

"We will hear from Mrs. Katherine Hicks how the IRS was unable to send her a bill for the out-of-court settlement she made with the IRS almost a decade ago. Because of the IRS's mistake and its inability to track her account, Mrs. Hicks has been subjected to tax liens against her house and levies against her husband's wages. She even took the drastic steps of filing for bankruptcy and divorce to try to escape from the heavy hand of the IRS. She is accompanied today by her husband, Mr. James Hicks.

"We will hear from Mrs. Nancy Jacobs how the IRS was unable to straighten out the employer identification number for her husband, Dr. Barry Jacobs', optometry practice. Their case spans 17 years with the Jacobs being subjected to liens, interest and penalties for someone else's taxes.

"Each of these taxpayers attempted to deal with their problems in good faith for an extended period of time. The IRS made little effort to resolve their problems. Instead of treating them as customers, they were treated as if they were tax cheats.

"Let me repeat -- the problems were created by the IRS' inability to perform a simple administrative task and the lack of will to correct the problem. If these had been credit card disputes, they would have been resolved expeditiously. It is telling that these cases were resolved when this Committee and the media began to probe.

"The fourth case we will hear about is even more disturbing. It did not start with an administrative error. We will hear that the IRS intentionally went after Mr. Tom Savage and his company to collect taxes owed by an unrelated business. Faced with a choice between saving his business or fighting the IRS, Mr. Savage's company paid $50,000 in taxes that it did not owe. I find this absolutely indefensible.

"I want to thank each of our witnesses for taking the time to come before the Committee today."

The testimony of each of the taxpayers is available from the Senate Finance Committee in room 219 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building, and will be available on the Committee's web site later today (www.senate.gov/~finance).

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