President Donald Trump signed into law on July 1 the Taxpayer First Act of 2019, legislation to redesign the Internal Revenue Service.
House Ways & Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal, D-Mass., said the signing was “the culmination of a lengthy, bipartisan process undertaken by the Ways and Means Committee to implement pro-taxpayer reforms at the IRS for the first time in more than 20 years.”
The law puts into place “new protections for low-income taxpayers, practical enforcement reforms, and upgraded assistance for taxpayers and small businesses,” Neal added.
The Taxpayer First Act of 2019, which had bipartisan support, originally passed the full House on April 2 and included a “free-file” provision prohibiting the IRS from creating a free tax-preparation software and thus competing with the tax-preparation industry. But lawmakers introduced a new version of the bill — H.R. 3151 — that excludes that provision. The House passed that bill on June 11 and the Senate did so on June 13.