I 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5716 

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide taxpayer protection 

and assistance, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 8, 2008 

Mr. BECERRA (for himself, Mr. DOGGETT, and Mr. PASCRELL) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, 

and in addition to the Committee on Financial Services, for a period to 

be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 

concerned 

A BILL 

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide 

taxpayer protection and assistance, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; AMENDMENT OF 1986 CODE. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Taxpayer Bill of Rights Act of 2008’’. 

6 (b) AMENDMENT OF 1986 CODE.—Except as other7 wise expressly provided, whenever in this Act an amend8 ment or repeal is expressed in terms of an amendment 


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1 to, or repeal of, a section or other provision, the reference 

2 shall be considered to be made to a section or other provi3 sion of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 

4 SEC. 2. STATEMENT OF TAXPAYER RIGHTS AND OBLIGA5 TIONS. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 77 (relating to miscella7 neous provisions) is amended by adding at the end the 

8 following new section: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 7529. STATEMENT OF TAXPAYER RIGHTS AND OBLI10 GATIONS. 

11 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consultation 

12 with the National Taxpayer Advocate, shall publish a sum13 mary statement of rights and obligations arising under 

14 this title. Such statement shall provide citations to the 

15 main provisions of this title which provide for the right 

16 or obligation (as the case may be). This statement of 

17 rights and obligations does not create or confer any rights 

18 or obligations not otherwise provided for under this title. 

19 ‘‘(b) STATEMENT OF RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS.— 

20 The statement of rights and obligations is as follows: 

21 ‘‘(1) TAXPAYER RIGHTS.— 

22 ‘‘(A) Right to be informed (including ade23 quate legal and procedural guidance and infor24 mation about taxpayer rights). 

25 ‘‘(B) Right to be assisted. 


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1 ‘‘(C) Right to be heard. 

2 ‘‘(D) Right to pay no more than the cor3 rect amount of tax. 

4 ‘‘(E) Right of appeal (administrative and 

5 judicial). 

6 ‘‘(F) Right to certainty (including guid7 ance, periods of limitation, no second exam, and 

8 closing agreements). 

9 ‘‘(G) Right to privacy (including due proc10 ess considerations, least intrusive enforcement 

11 action, and search and seizure protections). 

12 ‘‘(H) Right to confidentiality. 

13 ‘‘(I) Right to appoint a representative in 

14 matters before the Internal Revenue Service. 

15 ‘‘(J) Right to fair and just tax system 

16 (offer in compromise, abatement, assistance 

17 from the Office of the Taxpayer Advocate under 

18 section 7803(c), apology, and other compensa19 tion payments). 

20 ‘‘(2) TAXPAYER OBLIGATIONS.— 

21 ‘‘(A) Obligation to be honest. 

22 ‘‘(B) Obligation to be cooperative. 

23 ‘‘(C) Obligation to provide accurate infor24 mation and documents on time. 

25 ‘‘(D) Obligation to keep records. 


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1 ‘‘(E) Obligation to pay taxes on time.’’. 

2 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

3 for chapter 77 is amended by adding at the end the fol4 lowing new item: 

‘‘Sec. 7529. Statement of taxpayer rights and obligations.’’. 

5 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

6 this section shall take effect 180 days after the date of 

7 the enactment of this Act. 

8 SEC. 3. PROGRAMS FOR THE BENEFIT OF LOW-INCOME 

9 TAXPAYERS. 

10 (a) VOLUNTEER INCOME TAX ASSISTANCE PLUS.— 

11 Chapter 77 (relating to miscellaneous provisions) is 

12 amended by inserting after section 7526 the following new 

13 section: 

14 ‘‘SEC. 7526A. VOLUNTEER INCOME TAX ASSISTANCE PLUS. 

15 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may, subject to 

16 the availability of appropriated funds, make grants to pro17 vide matching funds for the development, expansion, or 

18 continuation of qualified return preparation programs. 

19 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section— 

20 ‘‘(1) QUALIFIED RETURN PREPARATION PRO21 GRAM.— 

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘qualified 

23 return preparation program’ means a pro24 gram— 


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1 ‘‘(i) which does not charge taxpayers 

2 for its return preparation services, 

3 ‘‘(ii) which operates programs which 

4 assist low-income taxpayers in preparing 

5 and filing their Federal income tax re6 turns, including schedules reporting sole 

7 proprietorship or farm income, and 

8 ‘‘(iii) in which all of the volunteers 

9 who assist in the preparation of Federal 

10 income tax returns meet the training re11 quirements prescribed by the Secretary. 

12 ‘‘(B) ASSISTANCE TO LOW-INCOME TAX13 PAYERS.—For purposes of subparagraph (A), a 

14 program is treated as assisting low-income tax15 payers if at least 90 percent of the taxpayers 

16 assisted by the program have incomes which do 

17 not exceed 250 percent of the poverty level, as 

18 determined in accordance with criteria estab19 lished by the Director of the Office of Manage20 ment and Budget. 

21 ‘‘(2) PROGRAM.—The term ‘program’ in22 cludes— 

23 ‘‘(A) a program at an institution of higher 

24 education which— 


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1 ‘‘(i) is described in section 102 (other 

2 than subsection (a)(1)(C) thereof) of the 

3 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

4 1088), as in effect on the date of the en5 actment of this section, and which has not 

6 been disqualified from participating in a 

7 program under title IV of such Act, and 

8 ‘‘(ii) satisfies the requirements of 

9 paragraph (1) through student assistance 

10 of taxpayers in return preparation and fil11 ing, 

12 ‘‘(B) an organization described in section 

13 501(c) and exempt from tax under section 

14 501(a) which satisfies the requirements of para15 graph (1); 

16 ‘‘(C) a regional, State or local coalition 

17 (with one lead organization, which meets the 

18 eligibility requirements, acting as the applicant 

19 organization); 

20 ‘‘(D) a county or municipal government 

21 agency; 

22 ‘‘(E) an Indian tribe, as defined in section 

23 4(12) of the Native American Housing Assist24 ance and Self-Determination Act of 1996 (25 

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1 ignated housing entity (as defined in section 

2 4(21) of such Act (25 U.S.C. 4103(21)), tribal 

3 subsidiary, subdivision, or other wholly owned 

4 tribal entity; 

5 ‘‘(F) a section 501(c)(5) organization; 

6 ‘‘(G) a State government agency if no 

7 other eligible organization is available to assist 

8 the targeted population or community; 

9 ‘‘(H) a Cooperative Extension Service of10 fice if no other eligible organization is available 

11 to assist the targeted population or community; 

12 and 

13 ‘‘(I) a nonprofit Community Development 

14 Financial Institution (CDFI) and federally- and 

15 State-charted credit union that qualifies for a 

16 tax exemption under sections 501(c)(1) and 

17 501(c)(14), respectively. 

18 ‘‘(c) SPECIAL RULES AND LIMITATIONS.— 

19 ‘‘(1) AGGREGATE LIMITATION.—Unless other20 wise provided by specific appropriation, the Sec21 retary shall not allocate more than $10,000,000 per 

22 year (exclusive of costs of administering the pro23 gram) to grants under this section. 

24 ‘‘(2) USE OF GRANTS FOR OVERHEAD EX25 PENSES PROHIBITED.—No grant made under this 


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1 section may be used for the overhead expenses that 

2 are not directly related to any program or that are 

3 of any institution sponsoring such program. 

4 ‘‘(3) OTHER APPLICABLE RULES.—Rules simi5 lar to the rules under paragraphs (2) through (6) of 

6 section 7526(c) shall apply with respect to the 

7 awarding of grants to qualified return preparation 

8 programs. 

9 ‘‘(4) PROMOTION OF CLINICS.—The Secretary 

10 is authorized to promote the benefits of and encour11 age the use of qualified VITA Plus through the use 

12 of mass communications, referrals, and other 

13 means.’’. 

14 (b) LOW-INCOME TAXPAYER CLINICS.— 

15 (1) INCREASE IN AUTHORIZED GRANTS.—Para16 graph (1) of section 7526(c) (relating to aggregate 

17 limitation) is amended by striking ‘‘$6,000,000’’ and 

18 inserting ‘‘$10,000,000’’. 

19 (2) USE OF GRANTS FOR OVERHEAD EXPENSES

20 PROHIBITED.— 

21 (A) IN GENERAL.—Section 7526(c) (relat22 ing to special rules and limitations) is amended 

23 by adding at the end the following new para24 graph: 


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1 ‘‘(6) USE OF GRANTS FOR OVERHEAD EX2 PENSES PROHIBITED.—No grant made under this 

3 section may be used for the overhead expenses that 

4 are not directly related to the clinic or that are of 

5 any institution sponsoring such clinic.’’. 

6 (B) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 

7 7526(c)(5) is amended— 

8 (i) by inserting ‘‘qualified’’ before 

9 ‘‘low-income’’, and 

10 (ii) by striking the last sentence. 

11 (3) PROMOTION OF CLINICS.—Subsection (c) of 

12 section 7526 (relating to special rules and limita13 tions), as amended by paragraph (2), is amended by 

14 adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

15 ‘‘(7) PROMOTION OF CLINICS.—The Secretary 

16 is authorized to promote the benefits of and encour17 age the use of qualified low-income taxpayer clinics 

18 through the use of mass communications, referrals, 

19 and other means.’’. 

20 (4) IRS REFERRALS TO CLINICS.—Subsection 

21 (c) of section 7526 (relating to special rules and lim22 itations), as amended by the preceding provisions of 

23 this subsection, is amended by adding at the end the 

24 following new paragraph: 


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1 ‘‘(8) IRS REFERRALS.—The Secretary may 

2 refer taxpayers to low-income taxpayer clinics receiv3 ing funding under this section.’’. 

4 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

5 for chapter 77 is amended by inserting after the item re6 lating to section 7526 the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 7526A. Volunteer income tax assistance plus.’’. 

7 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

8 this section shall take effect on the date of the enactment 

9 of this Act. 

10 SEC. 4. REGULATION OF FEDERAL INCOME TAX RETURN 

11 PREPARERS. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 330(a)(1) of title 31, 

13 United States Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘(including 

14 tax return preparers of Federal tax returns, documents, 

15 and other submissions)’’ after ‘‘representatives’’. 

16 (b) PROMULGATION OF REGULATIONS.—The Sec17 retary of the Treasury shall prescribe regulations under 

18 section 330 of title 31, United States Code, to regulate 

19 those tax return preparers not otherwise regulated under 

20 regulations promulgated under such section on the date 

21 of the enactment of this Act to carry out the provisions 

22 of, and amendments made by, this section. 

23 (c) REQUIREMENTS.—Such regulations shall provide 

24 guidance on the following: 

25 (1) EXAMINATION.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—In promulgating the 

2 regulations under paragraph (1), the Secretary 

3 shall approve and oversee an eligibility examina4 tion designed to test— 

5 (i) the technical knowledge and com6 petency of each tax return preparer to pre7 pare Federal tax returns, including indi8 vidual and business income tax returns, 

9 and 

10 (ii) the knowledge of each such tax re11 turn preparer regarding such ethical stand12 ards for the preparation of such returns as 

13 determined appropriate by the Secretary. 

14 (B) GRANDFATHER.—The Secretary is au15 thorized to accept an individual as meeting the 

16 eligibility examination requirement of this sec17 tion if, in lieu of the eligibility examination 

18 under this section, the individual passed an 

19 exam comparable to the eligibility examination 

20 described in subparagraph (A) if such exam was 

21 administered within 5 years of the issuance of 

22 the regulations under this section. 

23 (2) SUITABILITY STANDARDS.—The Secretary 

24 shall provide suitability standards for practicing as 

25 a tax return preparer, including personal compliance 


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1 with the requirements of the Internal Revenue Code 

2 of 1986. 

3 (3) CONTINUING ELIGIBILITY.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—The regulations under 

5 paragraph (1) shall require a renewal of eligi6 bility every 3 years and shall set forth the man7 ner in which a tax return preparer must renew 

8 such eligibility. 

9 (B) CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL EDU10 CATION REQUIREMENTS.—As part of the re11 newal of eligibility, such regulations shall re12 quire that each such tax return preparer show 

13 evidence of completion of such continuing edu14 cation or testing requirements as specified by 

15 the Secretary. 

16 (C) NONMONETARY SANCTIONS.— 

17 (i) The regulations under this section 

18 shall provide for the denial, suspension or 

19 termination of such eligibility in the event 

20 of any failure to comply with the require21 ments promulgated hereunder. 

22 (ii) Under such regulations, the Sec23 retary shall establish procedures for the 

24 appeal of any determination under this 

25 paragraph. 


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1 (d) PENALTY FOR UNAUTHORIZED PREPARATION OF

2 RETURNS.— 

3 (1) In promulgating the regulations pursuant to 

4 subsection (b), the Secretary shall impose a penalty 

5 of $1,000 for each Federal tax return, document, or 

6 other submission prepared by a tax return preparer 

7 who is not in compliance with the regulations pro8 mulgated under this section or who is suspended or 

9 disbarred from practice before the Department of 

10 the Treasury under such regulations. Such penalty 

11 shall be in addition to any other penalty which may 

12 be imposed. 

13 (2) No penalty may be imposed under para14 graph (1) with respect to any failure if it is shown 

15 that such failure is due to reasonable cause. 

16 (e) DEFINITION OF TAX RETURN PREPARER.—For 

17 purposes of this section, the term ‘‘tax return preparer’’ 

18 has the meaning given by section 7701(a)(36), and in19 cludes any person requiring the purchase of services, a fi20 nancial product or goods in lieu of or in addition to direct 

21 monetary payment. 

22 (f) PUBLIC AWARENESS CAMPAIGN.—The Secretary 

23 shall conduct a public information and consumer edu24 cation campaign, utilizing paid advertising— 


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1 (1) to encourage taxpayers to use for Federal 

2 tax matters only professionals who establish their 

3 competency under the regulations promulgated 

4 under section 330 of title 31, United States Code, 

5 and 

6 (2) to inform the public of the requirements 

7 that any compensated preparer of tax returns, docu8 ments, and submissions subject to the requirements 

9 under the regulations promulgated under such sec10 tion must sign the return, document, or submission 

11 prepared for a fee and display notice of such pre12 parer’s compliance under such regulations. 

13 (g) EFFECTIVE DATES.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The amendment made by 

15 this section shall take effect on the date of the en16 actment of the Act. 

17 (2) REGULATIONS.—The regulations required 

18 by section 330(d) of title 31, United States Code, 

19 shall be prescribed not later than 2 years after the 

20 date of the enactment of this Act. 

21 (3) FULL IMPLEMENTATION.—The Secretary, 

22 taking into consideration the complexity and mag23 nitude of the requirements set forth under this Act, 

24 may delay full implementation of the regulations 


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1 promulgated herein not later than the fifth filing 

2 season after the enactment of this Act. 

3 SEC. 5. REFUND ANTICIPATION LOANS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 77 (relating to miscella5 neous provisions), as amended by section 2, is amended 

6 by adding at the end the following new section: 

7 ‘‘SEC. 7530. REFUND ANTICIPATION LOANS. 

8 ‘‘(a) REGISTRATION.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall by reg10 ulation require each refund loan facilitator to reg11 ister annually with the Secretary. 

12 ‘‘(2) REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS.—A reg13 istration shall under paragraph (1) shall include— 

14 ‘‘(A) the name, address, and TIN of the 

15 refund loan facilitator, and 

16 ‘‘(B) the fee schedule of the facilitator for 

17 the year. 

18 ‘‘(3) DISPLAY OF REGISTRATION CERTIFI19 CATE.—The certificate of registration under para20 graph (1) shall be displayed in the facility of the re21 fund loan facilitator in the manner required by the 

22 Secretary. 

23 ‘‘(b) DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each refund loan 

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1 ject to the requirements of paragraphs (2) through 

2 (5). 

3 ‘‘(2) TAXPAYER EDUCATION.—The require4 ments of this paragraph are that the refund loan 

5 facilitator makes available to consumers an informa6 tional pamphlet that— 

7 ‘‘(A) sets forth options available for receiv8 ing tax refunds, presented from least expensive 

9 to most expensive, and 

10 ‘‘(B) discusses short-term credit alter11 natives to utilizing refund loans. 

12 ‘‘(3) NATURE OF THE TRANSACTION.—The re13 quirements of this paragraph are that, at the time 

14 of application for the refund loan, the refund loan 

15 facilitator specifically state in writing— 

16 ‘‘(A) that the applicant is applying for a 

17 loan based on the applicant’s anticipated in18 come tax refund, 

19 ‘‘(B) the expected time within which the 

20 loan will be paid to the applicant if such loan 

21 is approved, 

22 ‘‘(C) the time frame in which income tax 

23 refunds are typically paid based upon the dif24 ferent filing options available to the applicant, 


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1 ‘‘(D) that there is no guarantee that a re2 fund will be paid in full or received within a 

3 specified time period, and that the applicant is 

4 responsible for the repayment of the loan even 

5 if the refund is not paid in full or has been de6 layed, and 

7 ‘‘(E) that the applicant may file an elec8 tronic return without applying for a refund loan 

9 and the fee for filing such an electronic return. 

10 ‘‘(4) FEES, INTEREST AND AMOUNTS RE11 CEIVED.—The requirements of this paragraph are 

12 that, at the time of application for the refund loan, 

13 the refund loan facilitator discloses to the applicant 

14 all amounts to be received in connection with a re15 fund loan. Such disclosure shall include— 

16 ‘‘(A) a copy of the fee schedule of the re17 fund loan facilitator, 

18 ‘‘(B) the typical fees and interest rates 

19 (using annual percentage rates as defined by 

20 section 107 of the Truth in Lending Act (15 

21 U.S.C. 1606)) for several typical amounts of 

22 such loans and of other types of consumer cred23 it, 

24 ‘‘(C) that the loan may have substantial 

25 fees and interest charges that may exceed those 


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1 of other sources of credit, and the applicant 

2 should carefully consider— 

3 ‘‘(i) whether such a loan is appro4 priate for the applicant, and 

5 ‘‘(ii) other sources of credit. 

6 ‘‘(D) typical fees and interest charges if a 

7 refund is not paid or delayed, 

8 ‘‘(E) the amount of a fee (if any) that will 

9 be charged if the loan is not approved, and 

10 ‘‘(F) administrative costs and any other 

11 amounts. 

12 ‘‘(5) OTHER INFORMATION.—The requirements 

13 of this paragraph are that the refund loan facilitator 

14 discloses any other information required to be dis15 closed by the Secretary. 

16 ‘‘(6) DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENT.—A disclosure 

17 under any of the preceding paragraphs of this sub18 section shall not be treated as meeting the require19 ments of the respective paragraph unless the disclo20 sure is written in a manner calculated to be under21 stood by the average consumer of refund anticipa22 tion loans and provides sufficient information (as de23 termined in accordance with regulations prescribed 

24 by the Secretary) to allow the consumer to under25 stand such options and credit alternatives. 


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1 ‘‘(c) PENALTY.— 

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is hereby imposed a 

3 penalty on any refund loan facilitator who fails to 

4 register with the Secretary pursuant to subsection 

5 (a) or fails to meet a disclosure requirement under 

6 subsection (b). 

7 ‘‘(2) AMOUNT OF PENALTY.—The amount of 

8 the penalty imposed by paragraph (1) shall be the 

9 greater of— 

10 ‘‘(A) $1,000, and 

11 ‘‘(B) three times the amount of the refund 

12 loan and refund loan facilitator-determined fees 

13 charged with respect to each refund loan pro14 vided by the refund loan facilitator during the 

15 period in which the failure described in para16 graph (1) occurred. 

17 ‘‘(3) WAIVER BY SECRETARY.—In the case of a 

18 failure which is due to reasonable cause and not to 

19 willful neglect, the Secretary may waive part or all 

20 of the penalty imposed by paragraph (1) to the ex21 tent that the payment of such penalty would be ex22 cessive or otherwise inequitable relative to the failure 

23 involved. 

24 ‘‘(d) CONDUCT.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) RULES OF CONDUCT.—The Secretary shall 

2 prescribed rules of conduct for refund loan 

3 facilitators which are similar to the rules applicable 

4 to federally authorized tax practitioners (as defined 

5 by section 7525(a)(3)(A)) under part 10 of title 31, 

6 Code of Federal Regulations. 

7 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION ON APPROVAL AS REFUND

8 LOAN FACILITATOR.—For such period as the Sec9 retary (in his discretion) determines reasonable, the 

10 Secretary may not register any person as a refund 

11 loan facilitator under subsection (a) who the Sec12 retary determines has engaged in any conduct that 

13 would warrant disciplinary action under the rules of 

14 conduct prescribed under paragraph (1) or under 

15 part 10 of title 31, Code of Federal Regulations. 

16 ‘‘(e) OTHER LIMITATIONS RELATING TO REFUND

17 ANTICIPATION LOANS.—In any case in which a taxpayer 

18 has consented to the release of the taxpayer’s debt indi19 cator to a refund loan facilitator, the Secretary may only 

20 provide information related to the debt indicator to a re21 fund loan facilitator who is registered under subsection 

22 (a). For purposes of the preceding sentence, the term ‘debt 

23 indicator’ means a notification provided through a tax re24 turn’s acknowledgment file that a refund will be offset to 


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1 repay debts for delinquent Federal or State taxes, student 

2 loans, child support, or other Federal agency debt. 

3 ‘‘(f) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section— 

4 ‘‘(1) REFUND LOAN FACILITATOR.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘refund loan 

6 facilitator’ includes any electronic filing service 

7 provider who— 

8 ‘‘(i) solicits for, processes, receives, or 

9 accepts delivery of an application for a re10 fund anticipation loan, or 

11 ‘‘(ii) facilitates the making of a refund 

12 anticipation loan in any other manner. 

13 ‘‘(B) ELECTRONIC FILING SERVICE PRO14 VIDER.—The term ‘electronic filing service pro15 vider’ includes any person who is an electronic 

16 return originator, intermediate service provider, 

17 or transmitter. 

18 ‘‘(C) ELECTRONIC RETURN ORIGINATOR.— 

19 The term ‘electronic return originator’ includes 

20 a person who originates the electronic submis21 sion of income tax returns for another person. 

22 ‘‘(D) INTERMEDIATE SERVICE PRO23 VIDER.—The term ‘intermediate service pro24 vider’ includes a person who assists with proc25 essing return information between an electronic 


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1 return originator (or the taxpayer in the case of 

2 online filing) and a transmitter. 

3 ‘‘(E) TRANSMITTER.—The term ‘trans4 mitter’ includes a person who sends the elec5 tronic return data directly to the Internal Rev6 enue Service. 

7 ‘‘(2) REFUND LOAN.—The term ‘refund loan’ 

8 includes any loan of money or any other thing of 

9 value to a taxpayer in connection with the taxpayer’s 

10 anticipated receipt of a Federal tax refund. Such 

11 term includes a loan secured by the tax refund or an 

12 arrangement to repay a loan from the tax refund. 

13 ‘‘(g) REGULATIONS.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may pre15 scribe such regulations as necessary to carry out this 

16 subchapter. 

17 ‘‘(2) BURDEN OF REGISTRATION.—In promul18 gating such regulations, the Secretary shall minimize 

19 the burden and cost on the registrant.’’. 

20 (b) PUBLIC AWARENESS CAMPAIGN.—The Secretary 

21 of the Treasury shall conduct a public information and 

22 consumer education campaign, utilizing paid advertising, 

23 to educate the public on making sound financial decisions 

24 with respect to refund loans (as defined by section 7529 

25 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986), including— 


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1 (1) the need to compare the rates and fees of 

2 such loans with the rates and fees of conventional 

3 loans, 

4 (2) the need to compare the amount of money 

5 received under the loan after taking into consider6 ation such costs and fees with the total amount of 

7 the refund, and 

8 (3) where and how taxpayers may lodge com9 plaints concerning refund loan facilitators. 

10 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

11 for chapter 77 is amended by adding at the end the fol12 lowing new item: 

‘‘Sec. 7530. Refund anticipation loans.’’. 

13 (d) EFFECTIVE DATES.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The amendments made by 

15 this section shall take effect on the date of the en16 actment of the Act. 

17 (2) REGULATIONS.—The regulations required 

18 by section 7530(g) of the Internal Revenue Code of 

19 1986 shall be prescribed not later than 2 years after 

20 the date of the enactment of this Act. 

21 (3) FULL IMPLEMENTATION.—The Secretary of 

22 the Treasury, taking into consideration the com23 plexity and magnitude of the requirements set forth 

24 under this Act, may delay full implementation of the 


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1 regulations promulgated under such section not later 

2 than 5 years after the enactment of this Act. 

3 SEC. 6. PREPARER PENALTIES WITH RESPECT TO PREPA4 RATION OF RETURNS AND OTHER SUBMIS5 SIONS. 

6 (a) INCLUSION OF OTHER SUBMISSIONS IN PENALTY

7 PROVISIONS.— 

8 (1) UNDERSTATEMENT OF TAXPAYER’S LIABIL9 ITY.— 

10 (A) IN GENERAL.—Section 6694 (relating 

11 to understatement of taxpayer’s liability by tax 

12 return preparer) is amended by striking ‘‘return 

13 or claim of refund’’ each place it appears and 

14 inserting ‘‘return, claim of refund, or other sub15 mission’’. 

16 (B) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 

17 6694, as amended by paragraph (1), is amend18 ed by striking ‘‘return or claim’’ each place it 

19 appears and inserting ‘‘return, claim, or other 

20 submission’’. 

21 (2) OTHER ASSESSABLE PENALTIES.— 

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—Section 6695 (relating 

23 to other assessable penalties with respect to the 

24 preparation of tax returns for other persons) is 

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1 fund’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘re2 turn, claim of refund, or other submission’’. 

3 (B) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 

4 6695, as amended by paragraph (1), is amend5 ed by striking ‘‘return or claim’’ each place it 

6 appears and inserting ‘‘return, claim, or other 

7 submission’’. 

8 (b) INCREASE IN CERTAIN OTHER ASSESSABLE PEN9 ALTY AMOUNTS.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subsections (a), (b), and (c) 

11 of section 6695 (relating to other assessable pen12 alties with respect to the preparation of income tax 

13 returns for other persons) are each amended by 

14 striking ‘‘$50’’ and inserting ‘‘$1,000’’. 

15 (2) REMOVAL OF ANNUAL LIMITATION.—Sub16 sections (a), (b), and (c) of section 6695 are each 

17 amended by striking the last sentence thereof. 

18 (c) REVIEW BY THE TREASURY INSPECTOR GEN19 ERAL FOR TAX ADMINISTRATION.—Subparagraph (A) of 

20 section 7803(d)(2) is amended by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

21 end of clause (iii), by striking the period at the end of 

22 clause (iv) and inserting ‘‘, and’’, and by adding at the 

23 end the following new clause: 

24 ‘‘(v) a summary of the penalties as25 sessed and collected during the reporting 


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1 period under sections 6694 and 6695 and 

2 under the regulations promulgated under 

3 section 330 of title 31, United States 

4 Code, and a review of the procedures by 

5 which violations are identified and pen6 alties are assessed under those sections,’’. 

7 (d) ADDITIONAL CERTIFICATION ON DOCUMENTS

8 OTHER THAN RETURNS.— 

9 (1) IDENTIFYING NUMBER REQUIRED FOR ALL

10 SUBMISSIONS TO THE IRS BY TAX RETURN PRE11 PARERS.—The first sentence of paragraph (4) of 

12 section 6109(a) is amended by striking ‘‘return or 

13 claim for refund’’ and inserting ‘‘return, claim for 

14 refund, or other document’’. 

15 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made 

16 by paragraph (1) shall apply to documents filed 

17 after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

18 (e) COORDINATION WITH SECTION 6060(a).—The 

19 Secretary of the Treasury shall coordinate the require20 ments under the regulations promulgated under section 

21 330 of title 31, United States Code, with the return re22 quirements of section 6060 of the Internal Revenue Code 

23 of 1986. 


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1 (f) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The regulations required by 

2 this section shall be prescribed not later than one year 

3 after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

4 SEC. 7. CLARIFICATION OF ENROLLED AGENT CREDEN5 TIALS. 

6 Section 330 of title 31, United States Code, as 

7 amended by section 4, is amended— 

8 (1) by redesignating subsection (e) as sub9 section (f), and 

10 (2) by inserting after subsection (d) the fol11 lowing new subsection: 

12 ‘‘(e) Any enrolled agents properly licensed to practice 

13 as required under rules promulgated under subsection (a) 

14 shall be allowed to use the credentials or designation as 

15 ‘enrolled agent’, ‘EA’, or ‘E.A.’.’’. 

16 SEC. 8. PUBLIC AWARENESS. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 6103(k) (relating to dis18 closure of certain returns and return information for tax 

19 administration purposes) is amended by adding at the end 

20 the following new paragraph: 

21 ‘‘(10) DISCLOSURE OF RECOGNIZED, CER22 TIFIED, OR REGISTERED PERSONS; REVOCATION OF

23 REGISTRATION.—The Secretary shall furnish to the 

24 public— 

25 ‘‘(A) the identity of any person who— 


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1 ‘‘(i) is an enrolled agent or is an at2 torney or certified public accountant who 

3 either has a power of attorney on file with 

4 the Internal Revenue Service or notifies 

5 the Internal Revenue Service of their sta6 tus as a preparer of Federal tax returns, 

7 ‘‘(ii) is certified under section 330(d) 

8 of title 31, United States Code, as a tax 

9 return preparer, or 

10 ‘‘(iii) is registered as a refund loan 

11 facilitator pursuant to section 7529, and 

12 ‘‘(B) information as to whether or not any 

13 person who is otherwise suspended or disbarred 

14 is no longer so recognized, certified, or reg15 istered (as the case may be).’’. 

16 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

17 subsection (a) shall take effect not later than two years 

18 after the date of enactment of this Act. 

19 SEC. 9. IMPROVED SERVICES FOR TAXPAYERS. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—It is the sense of Congress that 

21 the Internal Revenue Service should within 5 years— 

22 (1) reduce the time between receipt of an elec23 tronically filed return and issuance of a refund, 

24 (2) provide free filing and preparation to low25 income taxpayers, 


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1 (3) expand assistance to low-income taxpayers, 

2 (4) allocate resources to assist low-income tax3 payers in establishing accounts at financial institu4 tions that receive direct deposits from the United 

5 States Treasury, 

6 (5) deliver tax refunds on debit cards, prepaid 

7 cards, and other electronic means to assist individ8 uals that do not have access to financial accounts or 

9 institutions, and 

10 (6) establish a pilot program for mobile tax re11 turn preparation offices. 

12 (b) LOCATION OF SERVICE.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The mobile tax return filing 

14 offices should be located in communities that the 

15 Secretary determines have a high incidence of tax16 payers claiming the earned income tax credit, par17 ticularly in locations with few community volunteer 

18 tax preparation clinics. 

19 (2) INDIAN RESERVATION.—At least one mobile 

20 tax return filing office should be on or near an In21 dian reservation (as defined in section 168(j)(6) of 

22 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986). 

23 SEC. 10. TAXPAYER ACCESS TO FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS. 

24 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.—The Secretary 

25 of the Treasury may award demonstration project grants 


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1 (including multiyear awards) to eligible entities to provide 

2 accounts to individuals who currently do not have an ac3 count with a financial institution. The account would be 

4 held in a federally insured depository institution. 

5 (b) PRIORITY.—Priority shall be given to demonstra6 tion project proposals that provide accounts at low or no 

7 cost and— 

8 (1) that utilize new technologies such as the 

9 prepaid product to expand access to financial serv10 ices, in particular for persons without bank ac11 counts, with low access to financial services, or low 

12 utilization of mainstream financial services, 

13 (2) that promote the development of new finan14 cial products and services that are adequate to im15 prove access to wealth building financial services, 

16 which help integrate more Americans into the finan17 cial mainstream, 

18 (3) that promote education for these persons 

19 and depository institutions concerning the avail20 ability and use of financial services for and by such 

21 persons, and 

22 (4) that include other such activities and 

23 projects as the Secretary may determine are con24 sistent with the purpose of this section. 

25 (c) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—An entity is eligible to re2 ceive a grant under this section if such an entity 

3 is— 

4 (A) an organization described in section 

5 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 

6 and exempt from tax under section 501(a) of 

7 such Code, 

8 (B) a federally insured depository institu9 tion, 

10 (C) an agency of a State or local govern11 ment, 

12 (D) a community development financial in13 stitution, 

14 (E) an Indian tribal organization, 

15 (F) an Alaska Native Corporation, 

16 (G) a Native Hawaiian organization, 

17 (H) an organization described in 

18 501(c)(5), and exempt from tax under section 

19 501(a), of such Code, 

20 (I) a nonbank financial service provider, or 

21 (J) a partnership comprised of 1 or more 

22 of the entities described in the preceding sub23 paragraphs. 

24 (2) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this sec25 tion— 


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1 (A) FEDERALLY INSURED DEPOSITORY IN2 STITUTION.—The term ‘‘federally insured de3 pository institution’’ means any insured deposi4 tory institution (as defined in section 3 of the 

5 Federal Deposit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 

6 1813)) and any insured credit union (as defined 

7 in section 101 of the Federal Credit Union Act 

8 (12 U.S.C. 1752)). 

9 (B) COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT FINAN10 CIAL INSTITUTION.—The term ‘‘community de11 velopment financial institution’’ means any or12 ganization that has been certified as such pur13 suant to section 1805.201 of title 12, Code of 

14 Federal Regulations. 

15 (C) ALASKA NATIVE CORPORATION.—The 

16 term ‘‘Alaska Native Corporation’’ has the 

17 same meaning as the term ‘‘Native Corpora18 tion’’ under section 3(m) of the Alaska Native 

19 Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1602(m)). 

20 (D) NATIVE HAWAIIAN ORGANIZATION.— 

21 The term ‘‘Native Hawaiian organization’’ 

22 means any organization that— 

23 (i) serves and represents the interests 

24 of Native Hawaiians, and 


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1 (ii) has as a primary and stated pur2 pose the provision of services to Native 

3 Hawaiians. 

4 (E) LABOR ORGANIZATION.—The term 

5 ‘‘labor organization’’ means an organization— 

6 (i) in which employees participate, 

7 (ii) which exists for the purpose, in 

8 whole or in part, of dealing with employers 

9 concerning grievances, labor disputes, 

10 wages, rates of pay, hours of employment, 

11 or conditions of work, and 

12 (iii) which is described in section 

13 501(c)(5) of the Internal Revenue Code of 

14 1986. 

15 (F) NONBANK FINANCIAL SERVICE PRO16 VIDER.—The term ‘‘nonbank financial service 

17 provider’’ mean an entity that engages in finan18 cial services activities, as authorized under the 

19 Federal Reserve Board, 12 Code of Federal 

20 Regulations Part 225, Regulation Y. 

21 (d) APPLICATION.—An eligible entity shall submit an 

22 application to the Secretary of the Treasury in such form 

23 and containing such information as the Secretary may re24 quire. 


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1 (e) EVALUATION AND REPORT.—For each fiscal year 

2 in which a grant is awarded under this section, the Sec3 retary of the Treasury shall submit a report to Congress 

4 containing a description of the activities funded, amounts 

5 distributed, and measurable results, as appropriate and 

6 available. 

7 (f) POWER AND AUTHORITY OF THE SECRETARY.— 

8 (1) ASSISTANCE.—Subject to appropriations, 

9 the Secretary of the Treasury may provide financial 

10 and technical assistance to awardees for expanding 

11 the distribution of financial services, including 

12 through financial services electronic networks. 

13 (2) RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT.—The Sec14 retary of the Treasury may conduct or support such 

15 research and development as the Secretary considers 

16 appropriate in order to further the purpose of this 

17 section, including the collection of information about 

18 access to financial services. 

19 (3) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary of the 

20 Treasury is authorized to promulgate regulations to 

21 implement and administer the program under this 

22 section. 

23 (g) STUDY ON DELIVERY OF TAX REFUNDS.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Treas25 ury, in consultation with the National Taxpayer AdVerDate Aug 31 2005 02:16 Apr 12, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00034 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5716.IH H5716

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1 vocate, shall conduct a study on the payment oppor2 tunities of delivering tax refunds on debit cards pre3 paid cards, and other electronic means to assist indi4 viduals that do not have access to financial accounts 

5 or institutions. 

6 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the 

7 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 

8 the Treasury shall submit a report to Congress con9 taining the result of the study conducted under sub10 section (a). 

Æ 


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