Reflections on the Impact of Nina Olson by Scott A. Schumacher

We welcome back Scott A. Schumacher who has provided several guest blogs for us over the years. Scott is the Associate Dean and a Professor of Law at University of Washington Law School. He directed the tax clinic at the law school for many years. No other tax clinic director that I know of has become the Associate Dean of their law school. Through his writing, teaching and litigating, Scott has been a major voice for low income taxpayers for many years. Keith

There are public officials who occupy offices and there are those that transform them. Nina Olson not only transformed the office of the National Taxpayer Advocate, she transformed the tax system. I have been the director of the Federal Tax Clinic at the University of Washington School of Law since 2000. Back then, Nina was “one of us,” directing the Community Tax Law Project. It is astonishing and gratifying to look back and observe the changes to tax administration because of Nina’s leadership.

When I left private practice to join the low-income taxpayer community was also the time that the new taxpayer protections in the 1998 IRS Restructuring and Reform Act were beginning to take effect and wend their way through the courts. Prior to RRA ’98, taxpayers had few rights and protections, particularly in the collection arena, and engaging with the IRS was often like the weather, you had to just deal with it. However, Collection Due Process and other taxpayer rights in RRA ’98 helped to change the relationship between taxpayers and the taxing authorities.

This change was magnified by Nina’s effective deployment of low-income taxpayer clinics, Taxpayer Advocate Service personnel, and the bully pulpit. Tax clinics have represented thousands of low-income taxpayers and have helped shape law and policy through the efforts of clinic directors and staff. TAS employees have been a bulwark in support of taxpayers by not only assisting individuals in matters before the IRS, but also in the extensive research projects undertaken by TAS. The NTA’s Annual Reports to Congress are required reading for anyone interested in effective tax administration and protecting the rights of taxpayers. These reports have also been an effective counterweight to IRS and Treasury pronouncements.

Nina’s passion, eloquence, and tireless advocacy have ensured that each of these efforts were used to their maximum potential. Ultimately, Nina’s biggest contribution may be that she changed the conversation. The rights of low-income individuals and other taxpayers are no longer an afterthought, they are front-and-center in the discussion.