It's more veiled than even the most elaborate secrecy arrangements at Langley. That's the Section of the Tax Code that prevents disclosure of taxpayer-related information. Designed to protect taxpayers' privacy, it does much more. It also protects the privacy of those who abuse taxpayers' rights, who mislead Congress, and who might use collection quotas in tax enforcement despite their illegality. In my experience, Mr. Chairman, such abuses occur when independent oversight is lacking.
Oversight has a rather antiseptic quality about it.
This board would set appropriate performance standards, would measure performance, and then reward or discipline managers according to their performance. An important part of oversight is more general openness. The Commission found that the IRS is a very closed and insular organization. As a result, we have put forward a first step to make the IRS more open to Congress and to the press. If we are to be successful in changing the culture of the IRS, a key ingredient is greater openness.