Peoria Standard

Congressman Darin LaHood announced the introduction of the bipartisan Tax Administration Simplification Act in a June 28 Facebook post. He stated that the act aims to address the challenges faced by Illinois families and small businesses with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

"Illinois families and small businesses face too many burdensome challenges when dealing with the IRS," said LaHood, U.S. Representative of Illinois's 16th congressional district (R), according to Facebook. "I'm proud to introduce the bipartisan Tax Administration Simplification Act to streamline filing and payment processes for taxpayers."

In his Facebook post, LaHood shared a link to a news release on his website detailing the provisions of the Tax Administration Simplification Act. According to the news release, the act would "apply the mailbox rule to electronically submitted documents and tax payments to the IRS, allow newly-formed small businesses to be treated as an S Corporation on their first tax filing, and revise the estimated tax payment deadlines to fall on quarterly intervals instead of the current irregular payment schedule."

Screenshot of Congressman Darin LaHood's June 28 Facebook post | U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood's Facebook page

LaHood issued a statement as part of the June 28 news release. "As the Ways and Means Committee works to strengthen our tax code, it is important that we improve taxpayer rights and the administrative process to reduce burdensome filing challenges. The Tax Administration Simplification Act builds off of recommendations from the National Taxpayer Advocate and previous legislation to simplify the tax filing and payment processes for American workers and small businesses. I am proud to lead this bipartisan effort and look forward to working with my Ways and Means colleagues to streamline the tax filing process," said LaHood.

The news release notes that sponsors of the bill include Representatives Brad Schneider (IL-10), Randy Feenstra (IA-04), Suzan DelBene (WA-04), Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-01), Jimmy Panetta (CA-19), and Debbie Lesko (AZ-08).

Congressman Darin LaHood has represented Illinois since 2015, initially serving in the 18th Congressional District until 2023; following redistricting, he now represents the 16th District. His political experience includes four years in the state senate from 2011-2015. He was also a state and federal prosecutor for more than nine years, including work for the U.S. Department of Justice as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Las Vegas, Nevada.

LaHood holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Loras College and a Juris Doctor from the University of Illinois-Chicago John Marshall Law School. He resides in Peoria with his wife, according to his official biography.