On March 30, 2020, just as the Pandemic hit, Erin Collins took over as the new National Taxpayer Advocate to lead the Taxpayer Advocate Service. Before becoming the Taxpayer Advocate, Ms. Collins represented taxpayers before the IRS in private practice and she brings that perspective to TAS. This panel covers the types of matters TAS handles, tips on how to open cases, and the challenges presented by the Pandemic, and it provides insight into the role that TAS plays in IRS compliance and enforcement.
IRS
National Taxpayer Advocate, Taxpayer Advocate Service
Erin has more than 35 years of experience in tax law. She began her career as an attorney in the IRS Office of Chief Counsel, where she worked for nearly 15 years in the Los Angeles District Counsel office. She then spent 20 years at KPMG, where she was managing director of the firm’s tax controversy practice for the Western region.
More recently, Erin represented several taxpayers on a pro bono basis in resolving disputes with the IRS. Throughout her career, she has been fortunate to work with many professional and hardworking IRS and TAS employees across the country. As a tax practitioner, she had enormous respect for TAS’s role as the “voice of the taxpayer.”