[1] As the National Taxpayer Advocate, Olson was the only Internal Revenue Service (IRS) employee authorized to make legislative proposals directly to the United States Congress.

"No one in the treasury department and no IRS employees, including the Commissioner of Revenue and anyone from the Office of Management and Budget, can see the report before I deliver it to Congress," Olson said, "I am truly an independent voice inside the IRS.

"[3] According to an article in January 2015 in Politico, the annual report of the Taxpayer Advocate to Congress indicated that IRS service was deteriorating to unprecedented poor levels in all aspects of its work, mainly in pre-filing and filing activities and also in its enforcement activities.

Congress removed 17 percent from the IRS budget since fiscal 2010 when adjusted for inflation while the agency was dealing with more tax returns than ever before.

Each year, the IRS answers phone calls from about 100 million people.