IRS to Get Review Panel on Taxpayer Abuse

Under fire for badgering innocent taxpayers, the Internal Revenue Service will set up a special three-member panel to review allegations of taxpayer abuse by IRS managers. Commissioner Charles O. Rossotti, in a meeting with Washington Post reporters and editors, said the purpose of the special disciplinary panel is “to have an objective assessment” of these allegations and to impose sanctions on workers who have engaged in abuses but “not to go on a witch hunt.” The panel will consist of one IRS executive and two executives from elsewhere in the government. After hearing a case, the panel may acquit the manager or impose sanctions ranging from a verbal reprimand to dismissal. The panel’s cases will be strictly civil. Any allegations of criminal misconduct will be referred to the Justice Department.