,i  #aadth ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #aiac  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,april #ba1 #bjae    
,mr4 ,jeffries introduced the following 
bill2 which was referred to the         
,committee on ,ways and ,means  ,a      
,,bill  ,to direct the ,secretary of the
 ,treasury to develop guidance and      
procedures for the recovery of refunds  
relating to tax return preparer fraud4  
#a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited
 as the ,protecting ,american ,taxpayers
 from ,fraud ,act of #bjae4  #b4        
,purpose ,the purpose of this ,act is to
 address predatory practices in low     
income communities by some tax return   
preparers4  #c4 ,referral procedures for
 recovery of refunds for taxpayers      
defrauded by employees or agents of tax 
preparation firms ,the ,secretary of the
 ,treasury 7or the ,secretary's         
delegate7 shall develop referral        
procedures for1 and establish a liaison 
to1 tax preparation firms to seek       
recovery of refunds for taxpayers       

defrauded by employees or agents of tax 
preparation firms4 ,in developing such  
procedures1 the ,secretary 7or the      
,secretary's delegate7 shall ensure that
 there is coordination among the        
following entities within the ,internal 
,revenue ,service3 ,taxpayer ,advocate  
,service1 ,wage  ,investment ,division1 
,criminal ,investigation1 ,office of the
 ,chief ,counsel1 ,return ,preparer     
,office1 and ,office of ,professional   
,responsibility4  #d4 ,comprehensive    
guidance for the treatment of all claims
 for refunds relating to tax return     
preparer fraud  7a7 ,in general ,the    
,secretary of the ,treasury 7or the     
,secretary's delegate7 shall develop    
comprehensive guidance for the treatment
 by the ,internal ,revenue ,service of  
all claims for refunds relating to tax  
return preparer fraud4 ,such guidance   
shall provide a clear description the   
rights and responsibilities of          
taxpayers1 including the following3     
7#a7 ,mitigation ,actions taken by the  

taxpayer to prevent the preparer fraud  
or to minimize the loss4  7#b7          
,restitution ,actions taken by the      
taxpayer to receive restitution relating
 to tax return preparer fraud and       
whether the taxpayer has received any   
restitution4  7#c7 ,substantiation      
,actions taken by the taxpayer to       
substantiate a claim of fraud1 including
 one or more of the following1 if       
available3 7,a7 ,providing a copy of the
 unaltered return of tax 7if provided by
 the preparer74  7,b7 ,providing a      
business card1 flyer1 or other          
advertisement with the preparer's       
contact information4  7,c7 ,providing a 
copy of any refund traces requested4    
7,d7 ,providing a copy of bank          
statements showing the expected refund  
was not deposited into the victim's     
account4  7,e7 ,providing a taxpayer    
statement regarding the fraud1 which    
shall be signed under penalties of      
perjury4  7,f7 ,filing a report or      
complaint with local law enforcement    

authorities4  7b7 ,guidance relating to 
restitution ,the ,secretary shall1 in   
the guidance developed for restitution--
  7#a7 place the emphasis on restitution
 received by the taxpayer and making the
 taxpayer whole relative to the cash    
value of assets that have already been  
transferred to the taxpayer1  7#b7 not  
reduce restitution on the basis of      
either anticipated or court mandated    
7but not yet collected7 payments1 and   
7#c7 provide for a claw-back procedure  
to ensure that restitution ultimately   
paid to the taxpayer1 subsequent to the 
restitution provided by the ,internal   
,revenue ,service1 would be remitted to 
the ,internal ,revenue ,service4