Title: Electronic Signature Standards Act of 2017
Policy area: Taxation

Summary:
Electronic Signature Standards Act of 2017
This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to require the Internal Revenue Service to publish guidance to establish uniform standards and procedures for the acceptance of practitioner signatures in digital or other electronic form for the purposes of: (1) disclosures of tax returns and return information to a designee of the taxpayer, and (2) any power of attorney executed by the taxpayer.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1074 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1074

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide uniform standards 
    for the use of electronic signatures for third-party disclosure 
                            authorizations.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 9, 2017

Mr. Portman (for himself and Mr. Bennet) introduced the following bill; 
     which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide uniform standards 
    for the use of electronic signatures for third-party disclosure 
                            authorizations.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Electronic Signature Standards Act 
of 2017''.

SEC. 2. UNIFORM STANDARDS FOR THE USE OF ELECTRONIC SIGNATURES FOR 
              THIRD-PARTY DISCLOSURE AUTHORIZATIONS.

    Paragraph (3) of section 6061(b) of the Internal Revenue Code of 
1986 is amended to read as follows:
            ``(3) Published guidance.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The Secretary shall publish 
                guidance as appropriate to define and implement any 
                waiver of the signature requirements or any method 
                adopted under paragraph (1).
                    ``(B) Electronic signatures for third-party 
                disclosure authorizations.--Not later than 6 months 
                after the date of the enactment of this subparagraph, 
                the Secretary shall publish guidance to establish 
                uniform standards and procedures for the acceptance of 
                practitioner signatures of digital or other electronic 
                form for purposes of--
                            ``(i) any request for disclosure of a 
                        taxpayer's return or return information under 
                        section 6103(c), and
                            ``(ii) any power of attorney executed by 
                        the taxpayer.
                    ``(C) Practitioner.--For purposes of subparagraph 
                (B), the term `practitioner' means any individual in 
                good standing who is regulated under section 330 of 
                title 31, United States Code.''.
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