Washington D.C. – Ways and Means Committee, July 01, 2026
Americans that are held hostage or wrongfully detained abroad will no longer return home to massive tax bills, taxpayers will be better protected from fraud and have a more empowered advocate in their corner, and the IRS will be forced to modernize its workforce and technology – including adopting artificial intelligence (AI) – to improve its service to the American people under legislation approved by the Ways and Means Committee.
As part of its oversight of America’s nonprofit sector, the Committee also approved legislation requiring hospitals that enjoy generous financial benefits due to their tax-exempt status to be more transparent with the American taxpayer about the type of services and resources they are providing – including charity care – to justify their tax-exempt designation.
In total, the Committee advanced seven pieces of legislation covering specific areas of tax administration and tax code integrity that need attention to protect the rights and interests of American taxpayers.
Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (MO-08) issued the following statement:
“The Ways and Means Committee has been systematically identifying weaknesses in how our tax code is administered – or in the case of American hostages being penalized by the IRS for delinquent tax payments, identifying absurd flaws – and pushing forward with solutions that will have a meaningful impact on the lives of the American people. No citizen who has had to endure the horror of being held captive abroad should have their homecoming overshadowed by a massive tax bill from the IRS. Similarly, victims of fraud deserve tax relief when rebuilding their financial lives and should never be held liable for crimes committed by tax preparers who attempt to defraud the government in their name. Ensuring this type of fair treatment under the law should also extend to the court room where if Americans find themselves before a judge in a case that has the potential to impact their taxpayer rights, the National Taxpayer Advocate should be allowed to speak up on their behalf before that court. One of the best ways to avoid mistreatment of taxpayers and defend against fraud in the first place is to tap the expertise of outside experts to help modernize IRS operations while deploying more modern technology like artificial intelligence to identify and stop criminals.
