Since the enactment of the Internal Revenue Service Reform and Restructuring Act of 1998, low-income tax clinics (LITCs) have grown significantly. Now numbering more than 100 and serving thousands of taxpayers, LITCs have reached a critical mass, or a so-called tipping point. Now, Book argues, to reach the many thousands of unrepresented low-income taxpayers in controversies with the IRS, LITCs need additional funding and continued support in the form of publicity from the IRS before they ensure that those often outside society's mainstream have the access to high-quality representation that is the promise of section 7526.

This article is based, in part, on Book's written testimony on low-income taxpayer clinics before the House Ways and Means Oversight Subcommittee, presented on July 12, 2001 (Doc 2001-19387 (7 original pages), 2001 TNT 137-24).