人物簡介
皮特·塞普，美國國家納稅人聯合會的發言人。
美國眾議員2007年共耗費納稅人2030萬美元，用於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”，如會議聲明、汽車保養和找工作的小貼士、對公共政策的調查，有些純粹就是自吹自擂的宣傳品。皮特·塞普對這種花納稅人的錢大量散發宣傳品的行為予以譴責。他說，這種大批量宣傳郵件給這些議員帶來了政治好處，“一封充斥議員政績的信件可以幫助提高他的信譽，增加他的選票。這種免費郵寄待遇是國會公共關係機器的一個主要鏈條。”
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 University’s 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.
施政透明
美國納稅人有種種機會通過各種途徑 ── 從稅務立法開始 ── 對收稅制度施加影響。現行各項稅務法律是經過公民、企業和遊說團體的大量辯論和聽證會之後，由國會議員制訂成文並經總統簽署產生的。
整套稅收法律通稱為 " 國內稅收法典 "(Internal Revenue Code) ，但它仍只是稅務領域的一個組成部份而已。國內稅收署負責頒布對法律做出更為詳細解釋的細則。整個系統相當複雜，法律加上國內稅收署細則共有將近 50000 頁，刊登在國內稅收署的網站上供公眾查閱 (www.irs.gov) 。
國內稅收署負責編制公民報稅時填寫的收入申報表格，另外還編寫解釋法律的出版物，免費供公眾使用。
即使在稅務法通過以後，美國公民仍然可以對如何實行法律施加影響。例如 1998 年通過的一項法律，向因從前配偶欠稅而受到責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施這項法律徵求人們意見。一個叫做 " 全國納稅人聯盟 "(National Taxpayers Union) 的民間組織向國內稅收署提出如何可以使報稅表格和填寫說明變得比較簡單明了的建議，以方便被該組織發言人皮特·塞普(Pete Sepp) 稱為的 " 無辜配偶 "(innocent spouses) 。修訂過的國內稅收署報稅表格於 1999 年出台時，加入了一些通俗易懂的內容，解答了人們在這方面常會提出的疑問。國內稅收署還在自己的叢書中增添了一份叫做《無辜配偶之減免》的出版物。
據塞普說， " 全國納稅人聯盟 " 對這些改進感到高興，儘管該組織提出的要求並沒有全部得到採納。但是他解釋說， " 整個決策過程本就是一種折衷取捨，適可而止，而並非必須力求十全十美。 "
何況，塞普指出，將來還有機會對進一步修改表格提出建議。他說： " 變化往往是逐步做出的。 " 國內稅收署除設計報稅表格之外，還要負責從公民那裡收取稅款。這就是說，對每一個納稅人的報稅表都要審閱，以防存在無意或有意的誤算。最後，如果國內稅收署懷疑某些人報錯稅或有矇騙的嫌疑，將對他們進行審查或曰 " 審計 " 。
儘管國內稅收署確定對哪些納稅人進行審計的具體方法屬於機密，但是公民被告之一些規則，使他們對審計過程有所認識。實際上，有一個叫做 " 業務檔案信息交流服務中心 "(Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse) 的團體，專門從事向國內稅務局和其他機構索取資料的工作，以保證這個制度不偏不倚。
