皮特·塞普，美國(guó)國(guó)家納稅人聯(lián)合會(huì)的發(fā)言人。

美國(guó)眾議員2007年共耗費(fèi)納稅人2030萬(wàn)美元，用于四處向選民郵寄各類印刷品。這些信件多是所謂的“垃圾郵件”，如會(huì)議聲明、汽車保養(yǎng)和找工作的小貼士、對(duì)公共政策的調(diào)查，有些純粹就是自吹自擂的宣傳品。皮特·塞普對(duì)這種花納稅人的錢大量散發(fā)宣傳品的行為予以譴責(zé)。他說(shuō)，這種大批量宣傳郵件給這些議員帶來(lái)了政治好處，“一封充斥議員政績(jī)的信件可以幫助提高他的信譽(yù)，增加他的選票。這種免費(fèi)郵寄待遇是國(guó)會(huì)公共關(guān)系機(jī)器的一個(gè)主要鏈條。”

Pete Sepp
Executive Vice President
As Executive Vice President, Pete Sepp serves as deputy to NTU President Duane Parde. In this role, Sepp has helped to develop the 362,000-member National Taxpayers Union’s (NTU) government affairs, public relations, and promotional strategies. Sepp also oversees strategic planning efforts for NTU and its staff. Additionally, Sepp directs and supervises the research and educational operations of the National Taxpayers Union Foundation (NTUF).

He has written and edited numerous policy papers, informational publications, and activist manuals, as well as studies on topics such as Congressional perquisites and citizen-initiated tax revolts. He has testified before Congress on matters ranging from Government-Sponsored Enterprises in lending to Medicare reforms, and has lectured in the U.S. and abroad on issues such as tax administration reform. Sepp is Editor-in-Chief of NTU’s award-winning periodical publications, Dollars & Sense.

Sepp has appeared on every major television network, and regularly provides interviews and commentaries to cable channels such as CNN, MSNBC, and the Fox News Channel. He is a frequent guest on radio programs from coast-to-coast, and has been widely featured in print media, including The New York Times, The Chicago Tribune, The Washington Post, The Christian Science Monitor, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Newsweek, and Money Magazine. He has also survived two appearances on "The Daily Show" with his professional reputation miraculously intact.

Sepp graduated cum laude from Webster University in St. Louis, MO in 1986 with a B.A. in History and Political Science and with Associate Degrees in Legal Studies and German. While attending Webster he earned a National Merit Scholarship and was the Universityu2019s nominee for the Harry S. Truman Political Science Scholarship. Sepp also served as Editor of Perspectives, a local newsletter of political opinion. Before coming to NTU, Sepp served with the St. Louis County Board of Elections and with a U.S. Senate campaign.

美國(guó)納稅人有種種機(jī)會(huì)通過(guò)各種途徑 ── 從稅務(wù)立法開(kāi)始 ── 對(duì)收稅制度施加影響�，F(xiàn)行各項(xiàng)稅務(wù)法律是經(jīng)過(guò)公民、企業(yè)和游說(shuō)團(tuán)體的大量辯論和聽(tīng)證會(huì)之后，由國(guó)會(huì)議員制訂成文并經(jīng)總統(tǒng)簽署產(chǎn)生的。

整套稅收法律通稱為 " 國(guó)內(nèi)稅收法典 "(Internal Revenue Code) ，但它仍只是稅務(wù)領(lǐng)域的一個(gè)組成部份而已。國(guó)內(nèi)稅收署負(fù)責(zé)頒布對(duì)法律做出更為詳細(xì)解釋的細(xì)則。整個(gè)系統(tǒng)相當(dāng)復(fù)雜，法律加上國(guó)內(nèi)稅收署細(xì)則共有將近 50000 頁(yè)，刊登在國(guó)內(nèi)稅收署的網(wǎng)站上供公眾查閱 (www.irs.gov) 。

國(guó)內(nèi)稅收署負(fù)責(zé)編制公民報(bào)稅時(shí)填寫(xiě)的收入申報(bào)表格，另外還編寫(xiě)解釋法律的出版物，免費(fèi)供公眾使用。

即使在稅務(wù)法通過(guò)以后，美國(guó)公民仍然可以對(duì)如何實(shí)行法律施加影響。例如 1998 年通過(guò)的一項(xiàng)法律，向因從前配偶欠稅而受到責(zé)任追究的離婚或分居者提供幫助。

按照慣例做法，政府就如何最有效地實(shí)施這項(xiàng)法律徵求人們意見(jiàn)。一個(gè)叫做 " 全國(guó)納稅人聯(lián)盟 "(National Taxpayers Union) 的民間組織向國(guó)內(nèi)稅收署提出如何可以使報(bào)稅表格和填寫(xiě)說(shuō)明變得比較簡(jiǎn)單明了的建議，以方便被該組織發(fā)言人皮特·塞普(Pete Sepp) 稱為的 " 無(wú)辜配偶 "(innocent spouses) 。修訂過(guò)的國(guó)內(nèi)稅收署報(bào)稅表格于 1999 年出臺(tái)時(shí)，加入了一些通俗易懂的內(nèi)容，解答了人們?cè)谶@方面常會(huì)提出的疑問(wèn)。國(guó)內(nèi)稅收署還在自己的叢書(shū)中增添了一份叫做《無(wú)辜配偶之減免》的出版物。

據(jù)塞普說(shuō)， " 全國(guó)納稅人聯(lián)盟 " 對(duì)這些改進(jìn)感到高興，盡管該組織提出的要求并沒(méi)有全部得到采納。但是他解釋說(shuō)， " 整個(gè)決策過(guò)程本就是一種折衷取舍，適可而止，而并非必須力求十全十美。 "

何況，塞普指出，將來(lái)還有機(jī)會(huì)對(duì)進(jìn)一步修改表格提出建議。他說(shuō)： " 變化往往是逐步做出的。 " 國(guó)內(nèi)稅收署除設(shè)計(jì)報(bào)稅表格之外，還要負(fù)責(zé)從公民那里收取稅款。這就是說(shuō)，對(duì)每一個(gè)納稅人的報(bào)稅表都要審閱，以防存在無(wú)意或有意的誤算。最后，如果國(guó)內(nèi)稅收署懷疑某些人報(bào)錯(cuò)稅或有蒙騙的嫌疑，將對(duì)他們進(jìn)行審查或曰 " 審計(jì) " 。

盡管國(guó)內(nèi)稅收署確定對(duì)哪些納稅人進(jìn)行審計(jì)的具體方法屬于機(jī)密，但是公民被告之一些規(guī)則，使他們對(duì)審計(jì)過(guò)程有所認(rèn)識(shí)。實(shí)際上，有一個(gè)叫做 " 業(yè)務(wù)檔案信息交流服務(wù)中心 "(Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse) 的團(tuán)體，專門從事向國(guó)內(nèi)稅務(wù)局和其他機(jī)構(gòu)索取資料的工作，以保證這個(gè)制度不偏不倚。