II. Management

A. Commissioner of Internal Revenue (House bill)

Establish a 5-year term for the Commissioner and require the Secretary of Treasury to notify Congress of any change of authority delegated to the IRS Commissioner.

B. Require the IRS Chief Counsel to Report to the Commissioner

Require the IRS Chief Counsel to report to the Commissioner rather than to the Treasury General Counsel. The Chief Counsel's powers and duties would not change unless the Secretary provides notice to Congress. The Chief Counsel would represent the IRS but would not have any tax policy authority.

C. Structure of Employee Plans & Exempt Organizations ("EP&EO" Division) (House bill)

Retain the Office of EP&EO and expand its responsibilities to include nonqualified deferred compensation arrangements. Consistent with current practice, appropriate funding would be subject to Congressional appropriations.

D. Taxpayer Advocate

1. Establish an independent Taxpayer Advocate modeled after Senator Breaux's bill (S.1308). The Taxpayer Advocate will be selected by the Secretary of Treasury from 3 candidates recommended by the Board. Candidates may include IRS employees. The Taxpayer Advocate may not be employed by the IRS within 5 years after ceasing duties as the Taxpayer Advocate.

2. Revise the Taxpayer Advocate's responsibilities and reporting requirements (e.g., providing line authority over local taxpayer advocates who will be more independent from the IRS).