,i #aaeth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #dci ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,january #aa1 #bjag,mr4 ,renacci 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,lewis of ,georgia1 ,mr4 ,kelly of ,pennsylvania1 ,mr4 ,kilmer1 ,mr4 ,bucshon1 ,mr4 ,barletta1 ,mr4 ,diaz-,balart1 ,mr4 ,meehan1 ,mr4 ,costello of ,pennsylvania1 ,mr4 ,tiberi1 ,mr4 ,roskam1 ,mrs4 ,comstock1 ,mr4 ,joyce of ,ohio1 and ,mr4 ,reichert7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,ways and ,means ,a ,,bill ,to amend the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf to prevent tax-related identity theft and tax fraud1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,stolen ,identity ,refund ,fraud ,prevention ,act of #bjag4 #b4 ,centralized point of contact for identity theft victims ,the ,secretary of the ,treasury1 or the ,secretary's delegate1 shall establish and maintain an office at the ,internal ,revenue ,service and procedures to ensure that any taxpayer whose return has been delayed or otherwise adversely affected due to the theft of the taxpayer's identity has a centralized point of contact throughout the processing of his or her case4 ,the office shall coordinate with other offices within the ,internal ,revenue ,service to resolve the taxpayer's case as quickly as possible4 #c4 ,taxpayer notification of suspected identity theft 7a7 ,in general ,chapter #gg of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf is amended by adding at the end the following new section3 #gebi4 ,notification of suspected identity theft ,if the ,secretary determines that there was an unauthorized use of the identity of any taxpayer1 the ,secretary shall-- 7#a7 as soon as practicable and without jeopardizing an investigation relating to tax administration1 notify the taxpayer and include with that notice-- 7,a7 instructions to the taxpayer about filing a police report2 and 7,b7 the forms the taxpayer must submit to allow investigating law enforcement officials to access the taxpayer's personal information2 and 7#b7 if any person is criminally charged by indictment or information relating to such unauthorized use1 notify such taxpayer as soon as practicable of such charge4 4 7b7 ,clerical amendment ,the table of sections for chapter #gg of such ,code is amended by adding at the end the following new item3 ,sec4 #gebi4 ,notification of suspected identity theft4 4 7c7 ,effective date ,the amendments made by this section shall apply to determinations made after the date of the enactment of this ,act4 #d4 ,report on electronic filing opt out ,the ,secretary of the ,treasury 7or the ,secretary's delegate7 shall submit a feasibility study to the ,committee on ,ways and ,means of the ,house of ,representatives and the ,committee on ,finance of the ,senate describing a program under which a person who has filed an identity theft affidavit with the ,secretary may elect to prevent the processing of any ,federal tax return submitted in an electronic format by that taxpayer or a person purporting to be that taxpayer4 ,the study shall be submitted within #ahj days after the date of the enactment of this ,act and should also include a recommendation on whether to implement such a program4 #e4 ,use of information in ,do ,not ,pay ,initiative in prevention of identity theft refund fraud ,the ,secretary of the ,treasury1 and the ,secretary's delegate1 shall use the information available under the ,do ,not ,pay ,initiative established under section #e of the ,improper ,payments ,elimination and ,recovery ,improvement ,act of #bjab 7#ca ,u4,s4,c4 #ccba note7 to help prevent identity theft refund fraud4 #f4 ,repeal of provision regarding certain tax compliance procedures and reports ,section #bjjd of the ,internal ,revenue ,service ,restructuring and ,reform ,act of #aiih 7#bf ,u4,s4,c4 #fjab note7 is repealed4 #g4 ,report on identity theft refund fraud 7a7 ,in general ,not later than ,september #cj1 #bjah1 and biannually thereafter through ,september #cj1 #bjbc1 the ,secretary of the ,treasury 7or the ,secretary's delegate7 shall report to the ,committee on ,ways and ,means of the ,house of ,representatives and the ,committee on ,finance of the ,senate on the extent and nature of fraud involving the use of a misappropriated taxpayer identity with respect to claims for refund under the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf during the preceding completed income tax filing season1 and the detection1 prevention1 and enforcement activities undertaken by the ,internal ,revenue ,service with respect to such fraud1 including-- 7#a7 detailing efforts to combat identity theft fraud1 including an update on the victims' assistance unit2 7#b7 information on both the average and maximum amounts of time that elapsed before the cases of victims of such fraud were resolved2 and 7#c7 discussing ,internal ,revenue ,service efforts associated with other avenues for addressing identity theft refund fraud4 7b7 ,additional requirements ,in addition1 each report shall provide an update on the implementation of this ,act and identify the need for any further legislation to protect taxpayer identities4 7c7 ,progress on outreach and education ,in the first biannual report on identity theft refund fraud under subsection 7a71 the ,secretary 7or the ,secretary's delegate7 shall include-- 7#a7 an assessment of the agency's progress on identity theft outreach and education to the private sector1 ,state agencies1 and external organizations2 and 7#b7 the results of a feasibility study on the costs and benefits to enhancing its taxpayer authentication approach to the electronic tax return filing process4 #h4 ,information sharing and analysis center 7a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary 7or the ,secretary's delegate7 shall establish an information sharing and analysis center to centralize1 standardize1 and enhance data compilation and analysis to facilitate sharing actionable data and information with respect to identity theft4 7b7 ,report ,not later than #a year after establishment of the information sharing and analysis center1 the ,secretary 7or the ,secretary's delegate7 shall submit a report to the ,committee on ,ways and ,means of the ,house of ,representatives and ,committee on ,finance of the ,senate on the information sharing and analysis center described in subsection 7a74 ,the report shall include the data that was shared1 the use of such data1 and the results of the data sharing and analysis center in combating identity theft4 #i4 ,local law enforcement liaison 7a7 ,establishment ,the ,commissioner of ,internal ,revenue shall establish within the ,criminal ,investigation ,division of the ,internal ,revenue ,service the position of ,local ,law ,enforcement ,liaison4 7b7 ,duties ,the ,local ,law ,enforcement ,liaison shall serve as the primary source of contact for ,state and local law enforcement authorities with respect to tax-related identity theft1 having duties that shall include-- 7#a7 receiving information from ,state and local law enforcement authorities2 7#b7 responding to inquiries from ,state and local law enforcement authorities2 7#c7 administering authorized information-sharing initiatives with ,state or local law enforcement authorities and reviewing the performance of such initiatives2 7#d7 ensuring any information provided through authorized information-sharing initiatives with ,state or local law enforcement authorities is used only for the prosecution of identity theft-related crimes and not re-disclosed to third parties2 and 7#e7 such other duties relating to tax-related identity theft prevention as are delegated by the ,commissioner of ,internal ,revenue4 #aj4 ,,irs phone scam report 7a7 ,in general ,not later than #a year after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,inspector ,general for ,tax ,administration1 in consultation with the ,federal ,communications ,commission and the ,federal ,trade ,commission1 shall submit a report to ,congress regarding identity theft phone scams under which individuals attempt to obtain personal information over the phone from taxpayers by falsely claiming to be calling from or on behalf the ,internal ,revenue ,service4 7b7 ,contents of report ,such report shall include-- 7#a7 a description of the nature and form of such scams2 7#b7 an estimate of the number of taxpayers contacted pursuant to1 and the number of taxpayers who have been victims of1 such scams2 7#c7 an estimate of the amount of wrongful payments obtained from such scams2 and 7#d7 details of potential solutions to combat and prevent such scams1 including best practices from the private sector and technological solutions4 #aa4 ,providing identity theft prevention information while on hold with ,internal ,revenue ,service ,the ,secretary of the ,treasury1 or the ,secretary's delegate1 shall ensure that if a taxpayer is on hold with the ,internal ,revenue ,service on a taxpayer service telephone call the following information is provided3 7#a7 ,basic information about common identity theft tax scams4 7#b7 ,directions on where to report such activity4 7#c7 ,tips on how to protect against identity theft tax scams4 #ab4 ,no additional funds authorized ,no additional funds are authorized to carry out the requirements of this ,act and the amendments made by this ,act4 ,such requirements shall be carried out using amounts otherwise authorized4