Fiscal Year 2020 Statutory Review of Restrictions on Directly Contacting Taxpayers

The Director, Field Collection, should ensure that managers discuss inadvertent disclosures of taxpayer return or return information, as specified under I.R.C. Section 6103(a), with the responsible employee and report willful disclosures to TIGTA.

The Director, Field Collection, should ensure that managers appropriately report the cases that TIGTA identified with potential I.R.C. Section 6304(a)(2) violations to the appropriate local Labor Relations Specialist.

The Director, Field Collection, should reemphasize the importance of revenue officers following established guidelines and procedures on the taxpayer's right to representation, including enclosure of Publication 1 in correspondence, discussing those rights during the initial taxpayer interview process, and documenting those actions in the case history narrative.

The Commissioner, TE/GE Division, should revise Form 1023 and/or instructions to ensure that taxpayers who are applying for exempt status and who have a valid POA can clearly elect whether they or their POA should serve as the initial contact with EO Determinations.

The Commissioner, TE/GE Division, should update EO Determinations training and IRM to include bypass procedures and to stress that, when an organization is represented by a valid POA, the taxpayer can elect whether they or their POA should serve as the main point of contact with EO Determinations.