15-1-223. Office of taxpayer assistance. (1) The department of revenue shall establish and maintain an office of taxpayer assistance.

(2) The office shall assist taxpayers by:

(a) providing easily understandable tax information on audits and corrections and review procedures of the department;

(b) providing easily understandable information on appeal procedures;

(c) answering questions regarding preparing and filing of returns and reports with the department; and

(d) locating documents or payments filed with or submitted to the department.

(3) The office of taxpayer assistance shall also:

(a) receive and evaluate complaints related to improper or abusive behavior or inefficient service provided by employees of the department and recommend appropriate action to the director of the department to resolve the complaints;

(b) compile data on the number and type of taxpayer complaints received and evaluate the actions taken to resolve complaints;

(c) survey taxpayers to obtain their evaluation of the quality of service provided by the department;

(d) monitor the department's compliance with the taxpayer bill of rights and report any abuses to the director of the department;

(e) monitor the department's collection activities to:

(i) report any abuses in collection activities by the department to the director;

(ii) recommend to the director whether a particular collection activity should be stopped if the taxpayer has not had an adequate opportunity to discuss alternative means of payment; and

(f) perform any other functions that the director may assign to assist taxpayers in complying with Montana's tax laws.

(4) The department may charge a fee of $1 for processing a complaint.