Some cases had languished in the system, or were creating a financial hardship on taxpayers. Others were ones where the IRS had not yet done what it said it was going to do to resolve the problem. It's not dull work - really, Olson insists. She's been doing it for years. She also founded and directed the Richmond, Va.-based Community Tax Law project, the nation's first independent clinic for low income taxpayers.
Taxes involve family, money, business.
They involve homes, aging, death. It's certainly not dry. Most people involved in the tax system are true philosophers of human nature. There's been a problem-resolution unit at the IRS for more than 20 years. But the advocate's office underwent major changes in 1998 when the IRS was restructured.