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President signed into law the Internal Revenue Service
Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998, Pub. L. 105-206, 112 Stat.
685 (RRA 1998).5
In RRA 1998, Congress provided, among other things, in new
section 6320 that respondent’s Appeals officers conducting CDP
hearings are to be impartial and are not to have had prior
involvement in a taxpayer’s outstanding taxes for the years
involved in a CDP hearing. See sec. 6320(b)(3). The language of
section 6320(b)(3) provides as follows:
SEC. 6320(b). Right to Fair Hearing.--
* * * * * * *
(3) Impartial officer.--The hearing
under this subsection shall be conducted by
an officer or employee who has had no prior
involvement with respect to the unpaid tax
specified in subsection (a)(3)(A) before the
first hearing under this section or section
6330. A taxpayer may waive the requirement
of this paragraph.
In RRA 1998 sec. 1001(a)(4), 112 Stat. 689, Congress also
directed that respondent’s Appeals officers should exercise
independent judgment, and Congress prohibited respondent’s
Appeals officers from engaging in ex parte communications with
other employees of respondent that would appear to compromise the
5 See generally 144 Cong. Rec. 14688-14689, 14694-14717,
14719-14722, 14726-14727, 14730-14733, 14735-14737, 14739, 14789-
14795 (1998).
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