2009 Media Tour
Each year, National Taxpayer Advocate (NTA) Nina Olson participates in a satellite media tour to discuss the Annual Report to Congress and the role of the Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS). The following soundbites are from the January 2009 media tour.
2008 Annual Report to Congress (released January 2009)
The NTA discusses the 20 most serious problems facing taxpayers in 2008.
Cancellation of Debt Income
The NTA discusses tax-related challenges affecting individuals with forgiven or canceled mortgages or other debts, often due to a home foreclosure. In 2008, cancellation of debt income impacted millions of taxpayers in the United States.
The NTA discusses the Insolvency Provision, which applies to taxpayers who have a debt larger than the value of all their assets and is related to cancellation of debt income.
Complexity of the Tax Code
The NTA discusses the complexity of the tax code and outlines the steps the IRS is taking to ensure volunteer tax preparers understand important tax issues, such as cancellation of debt income. Volunteer preparers help low- to moderate-income individuals prepare their tax returns free of charge at volunteer income tax assistance (VITA) sites around the country.
Systemic Advocacy
The NTA discusses TAS’s efforts to resolve systemic issues in the IRS and the tax code. The Office of Systemic Advocacy falls within TAS and addresses broad issues that impact groups of both individual and business taxpayers.
What is TAS?
Who Qualifies for Assistance from TAS?
How to Contact TAS
Note: To view captions in the above videos, select the "Play" menu item in Windows Media Player. Under "Captions and subtitles" make sure the "On if available" option is selected.
