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IRS oversight board named
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September 12, 2000: 3:37 p.m. ET
Six private industry reps will advise tax agency on strategic and operational plans
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Six representatives of private industry have been appointed to the Internal Revenue Service oversight board. The group, which is independent of the IRS, is charged with the responsibility of overseeing the agency's administration, management, conduct, direction and execution and application of tax law. The board is also responsible for reviewing and approving the IRS' strategic and operational plans.
The appointment of the oversight board was met enthusiastically by small business owners and advocates who expect now to have a voice in IRS decisions that directly affect small businesses.
"With the confirmation of these six private-sector representatives, taxpayers will now have a direct voice into the IRS," said U.S. Senator Christopher "Kit" Bond (R-Mo.), chairman of the Senate Small Business Committee.
Part of larger agency overhaul
The oversight board is but one piece of a major restructuring of the agency from one divided into regions to one based on the differing needs of different types of taxpayers.
 Small business owners have supported the change, not only because they had hoped to have a say in IRS policies, but also because they have to file more forms and more complicated forms with the IRS than do individual taxpayers.
According to the IRS, small business owners are required to file more forms and schedules than any other group of taxpayer. Small business owners and self-employed people have to conduct at least four and up to 60 transactions with the IRS each year.
In addition, to assist small business owners, the IRS created a separate division to deal with tax issues as they related to the 45 million small businesses that file taxes in the United States. The small business division, set to begin operating in October, will assist small-business owners and self-employed people with their tax filing questions and to resolve disputes between small business taxpayers and the IRS.
The six individuals appointed to the oversight board include: George L. Farr, former vice chairman of American Express; Nancy Killefer, senior partner at McKinsey and Co.; Charles Kolbe, small business owner; Larry Levitan, former consultant with Arthur Andersen & Co. and Andersen Consulting; Steve H. Nickels, professor of law at Wake Forest University Law and Bobcock Graduate School of Management; and Karen Hastie Williams, law partner at Crowell & Moring.
The board will choose one person to serve as chairman when it convenes and will establish rules and procedures. 
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