By Mr. Coughlin of Dedham, petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 2875) of Robert K. Coughlin and Bradley H. Jones, Jr., requiring the Department of Revenue to publish annually its audit manual.  Revenue.

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PETITION OF:

Robert K. Coughlin

Bradley H. Jones, Jr.

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In the Year Two Thousand and Seven.

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An Act requiring the Department of Revenue to publish annually its audit manual.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

SECTION 1. Section 1 of Chapter 14 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2004 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after the second paragraph the following new paragraph:-

In order to foster the highest degree of public trust and confidence in the department and to ensure that the administration of tax laws of the commonwealth are conducted in a manner that is free from any influence that may compromise, or appear to compromise, its objectivity in any manner whatsoever; and to ensure that the duties and responsibilities assigned to such department shall be carried out with the highest standards of professionalism and ethical behavior; and that its officials and employees shall act with integrity, impartiality and equality, without regard to political concerns, the department shall publish no less than annually the complete and comprehensive audit guidelines which shall be binding upon the department and the taxpayers.  Any guideline, practice or procedure not included in the manual, or a published update to the manual, will not be employable during an audit.  These guidelines shall be published on the website and may be made available in other forms to taxpayers upon request.