Over the past several years as taxpayers have endured the Great Recession the IRS has escalated the number of federal tax liens filed against delinquent taxpayers. The IRS aggressive use of liens has been criticized by the National Taxpayer Advocate in her annual report to congress and the IRS Advisory Council in its annual report to the Commissioner. IRS recently announced a new, more flexible attitude in policies and programs to help taxpayers pay back taxes and avoid tax liens.
Procedural Requirements for Imposition of Penalties and Additions to Tax
The Internal Revenue Service Restructuring Act required that each notice imposing a penalty include the name of the penalty, the Code section imposing the penalty, and a computation of the penalty. The Act also requires the specific approval of IRS management to assess all non computer generated penalties unless excepted. This provision does not apply to failure to file penalties, failure to pay penalties, or to penalties for failure to pay estimated tax.
