ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times

DATE: Wednesday, April 17, 1996              TAG: 9604170063
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL   PAGE: A-5  EDITION: METRO 
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
SOURCE: Houston Chronicle

HOUSE FAST TO PASS TAXPAYER-RIGHTS BILL

House Republicans and Democrats put aside election-year differences over taxes Tuesday to pass unanimously a ``taxpayer bill of rights'' that would make it more difficult for the Internal Revenue Service to crack down on taxpayers without just cause.

The measure, aimed at restructuring some of the IRS guidelines and regulations to make them more taxpayer-friendly, passed by a vote of 425-0. Members depicted the government's tax collection agency as an out-of-control giant interested only in forcing Americans to cough up more of their hard-earned cash.

``There's no question the IRS has grown too powerful and too intrusive,'' said House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Bill Archer, R-Texas. He said it would arm taxpayers with a ``slingshot'' against ``the Goliath.''

The bill, if passed by the Senate, would make it harder for the IRS to collect penalties and interest on unpaid taxes of less than $100,000 by extending the grace period for paying from 10 to 21 days. It also would require the IRS to reimburse the taxpayer for any attorney fees and court costs if the IRS is ``substantially'' at fault in bringing an action.

The measure would increase from $100,000 to $1 million the amount of a civil award the taxpayer may receive for personal damages caused by an IRS employee or an erroneous IRS action. It also would:

* Require the IRS to notify former spouses when it begins action to collect jointly owed back taxes from the other ex-spouse.

* Raise the cap on reimbursed legal fees from $75 an hour to $110.

* Allow the use of private delivery services, as well as the U.S. Postal Service, to deliver tax returns and other documents to the IRS.

* Create a ``taxpayer advocate'' office within the IRS that would replace the position known as IRS taxpayer ombudsman, and expand the advocate's authority to force the IRS to meet its own deadlines.

The Associated Press contributed information to this story.

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