PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · May 17, 2021
Small Business Taxpayer Bill of Rights Act of 2021
This bill modifies various tax enforcement procedures and requirements that affect small businesses and other taxpayers.
The bill modifies requirements regarding
awarding costs and fees to small businesses for administrative and court proceedings,
the amounts of damages and penalties that are allowed for violating various tax laws,
dispute resolution and appeal procedures,
enforcing liens against principal residences,
terminating Internal Revenue Service (IRS) employees for misconduct,
reviews by the Department of the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, and
the release of an IRS levy due to economic hardship for business taxpayers.
The bill also
allows a tax deduction for a portion of a taxpayer's expenses for certain audits,
prohibits ex parte communications between officers in the IRS Independent Office of Appeals and other IRS employees with respect to matters pending before the officers,
establishes a 10-year term for the National Taxpayer Advocate, and
repeals the requirement to submit a partial payment with an offer-in-compromise to settle a tax liability.
People & committees
Sen. Cornyn, John [R-TX] · R–TX
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
Introduced in Senate
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.
Source last updated: Jan 10, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
AI Conversation Starters
Choose a perspective, copy a prompt, and paste it into your preferred AI. Each prompt includes the bill version and available official source links, and asks for counterarguments as well as supporting evidence.
Analyze S.1656 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.
Examine S.1656 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.
Examine S.1656 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.
Examine S.1656 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.