Oveson, who took the post in Sept. 1998, will leave the agency to return to Utah, where he once served as the state's lieutenant governor and chairman of the Utah State Tax Commission, to "pursue private professional interests," the IRS said.

He was the first person from outside the IRS to hold the position of NTA, a requirement of the IRS Reform and Restructuring Act. During his tenure, Oveson oversaw the expansion of powers and responsibilities of the NTA office prompted by Congress in the reform law.

Among the changes in the NTA office during Oveson's two years at the IRS were a move toward a nationwide network, under which state taxpayer advocates report to the national taxpayer advocate, rather than to a district director, the reorganization of the group of 74 taxpayer advocates, and the expansion of the NTA annual report to Congress.

"Val spearheaded the effort to build the Taxpayer Advocate Service into a new organization devoted to helping taxpayers," said IRS Commissioner Charles Rossotti. "Thanks to his leadership, taxpayers have an easier way of resolving problems they can't fix through normal IRS channels."

"While Val's skills will be missed, he leaves behind an organization ready to play an active role helping taxpayers in the new, reorganized IRS," Rossotti added.

-- SmartPros News Staff

Send comments to information@smartpros.com.

Back to NewsLine