Editorial Policy
This policy governs how articles are reported, written, reviewed, and corrected at Get Tax Relief Now. It applies to every person who writes for, edits, or contributes to this publication.
Guiding Principles
Our editorial standards draw on the four principles of the Society of Professional Journalists' Code of Ethics.
Seek Truth and Report It
We ground every article in primary source documents. We verify factual claims before publication. We don't publish what we can't confirm.
Minimize Harm
We write about tax law and policy in ways that inform without alarming. When we cover enforcement actions, penalties, or scams, we focus on what readers need to know and what they can do, not on generating fear.
Act Independently
Our editorial decisions are made independently of the firm's tax-resolution services. Commercial considerations do not influence what we cover or how we cover it.
Be Accountable and Transparent
When we make mistakes, we correct them publicly. We publish our sourcing standards, our AI usage, our corrections process, and this policy so readers and reviewers can evaluate how we work. We apply these principles to the specific domain of tax journalism, where the stakes for readers (real money, real deadlines, real legal consequences) make accuracy non-negotiable.
Editorial Staff
The editor-in-chief holds final authority over all editorial decisions: what stories to cover, how they are framed, what sources are used, and whether an article meets our standards for publication. No advertiser, sponsor, or business partner has editorial input into or approval over the articles we publish.
Roles listed as "open" are positions we are actively working to fill. This masthead will be updated as positions are staffed. Until those roles are separately filled, William J. McLee fulfills them as noted above.
Sourcing Standards
Every article must be grounded in at least one primary source.
What Counts as a Primary Source
In tax journalism, primary sources include the following:
- IRS press releases and News Releases (IR-numbered documents)
- Revenue Rulings, Revenue Procedures, Notices, and Announcements published in the Internal Revenue Bulletin
- The text of enacted or proposed federal and state legislation
- U.S. Tax Court opinions and orders
- State revenue department official announcements, bulletins, and guidance documents
- Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration audit reports
- Taxpayer Advocate Service reports to Congress
What Does Not Count
Secondary sources (coverage from other news outlets, practitioner commentary, and trade-group analyses) may provide context and help frame the significance of a development. They are never the sole basis for a factual claim. If we cite a number, a date, a form reference, or a legal requirement, it must be verifiable against the primary source, and that source must be cited in the article.
When we quote or closely paraphrase language from a source document, we identify the document and, wherever possible, link directly to it so readers can verify the claim themselves.
Accuracy and Verification
Before any article is published, every factual claim in the piece is checked against the primary source document: dollar amounts, filing deadlines, IR numbers, bill numbers, form numbers, percentage figures, and statutory references. Each one is verified, not assumed.
This verification step is part of our eight-step publication workflow, described in full on our AI usage policy page. It occurs after the initial draft is produced and before the editorial review that precedes publication.
If a factual error is discovered after publication, we follow the process described in our corrections policy. Every correction is recorded in our public corrections log.
Fairness and Balance
Tax news regularly involves competing interests: the government's enforcement authority and the taxpayer's rights; legislative intent and the practical impact on filers; and one state's approach versus another's. We report on these tensions. We do not advocate for a particular political position.
When an article covers a policy change or IRS action that affects taxpayers, we aim to include the relevant agency's stated rationale for the action, the practical impact on affected taxpayers, and, where applicable, a practitioner's perspective on how taxpayers should respond or what options are available to them.
We do not publish articles that endorse political candidates or advocate for or against specific legislation. When we cover a legislative proposal, we describe what it would do and who it would affect. We let readers draw their own conclusions.
Independence
Get Tax Relief Now operates under the same corporate entity as a tax-resolution practice (MWB Tax Solutions, a division of McLee Wealth Building, Inc.). The newsroom and the practice serve different functions. We are transparent about this relationship, and we maintain a clear separation.
Editorial Decisions
Editorial decisions are not influenced by business development, client acquisition, or marketing objectives. Articles are not written to generate leads. The decision to cover a topic is based on its news value: the significance of the development, the number of taxpayers it affects, and the timeliness of the information. Whether the topic relates to a service the firm offers is not a factor.
Overlapping Topics
When an article covers a subject that overlaps with the firm's services (offers in compromise, installment agreements, and penalty abatement), the same editorial standards apply. Sourcing is the same. Verification is the same. The article serves the reader, not the business. When we suggest readers consult a tax professional about their specific situation, that recommendation reflects sound editorial practice in tax journalism. It is not a referral to our firm. Many of our articles include links to IRS resources, free filing programs, and contact information for the Taxpayer Advocate Service as alternatives.
Attribution and Bylines
Every news article carries a byline identifying the author, the author's title, and the date of publication. If an article is substantively updated after publication, the updated date is displayed alongside the original publication date.
Author biographies, credentials, and areas of expertise are published on individual author pages. William J. McLee's full author page is available at /news-authors/william-mclee.
Spanish-Language Coverage
Get Tax Relief Now publishes articles in both English and Spanish. Our Spanish-language coverage follows the same editorial standards (same sourcing requirements, same verification process, same correction procedures), and Spanish-language articles are not machine translations.
They are reviewed for accuracy of tax terminology, cultural relevance, and clarity in conveying legal and financial concepts that do not always translate directly between languages. Tax terms like "Offer in Compromise," "enrolled agent," and "filing status" have specific meanings in U.S. tax law that must be conveyed precisely, regardless of the language the article is written in.
The Spanish-language editor role is currently open, and we are actively recruiting. Until that position is filled, the editor-in-chief reviews Spanish-language content, applying the same attention to accuracy standards that we apply to all coverage.
Publication Frequency
We publish every weekday. Our schedule is driven by the news cycle in tax policy and administration: when the IRS publishes guidance, when Congress acts, when state agencies make announcements, and when new scam alerts are issued.Time-sensitive coverage (deadline changes, scam warnings, disaster-related filing extensions) is prioritized and published as quickly as our verification process allows. We do not sacrifice accuracy for speed, but we recognize that delayed tax information can be as harmful as inaccurate tax information.
AI Disclosure
We use AI tools as part of our editorial workflow. A separate, published AI usage policy governs that use.
The core principle: AI assists with drafting. Story selection, source verification, practitioner analysis, editorial review, and the decision to publish remain entirely within the purview of the human editorial staff.
Corrections and Accountability
We maintain a published corrections policy that classifies errors into three tiers based on potential reader impact and prescribes a specific response for each tier. We record every correction (including the date, article, error, fix, and tier) in our public corrections log.
Readers who believe they have found an error can report it by emailing info@gettaxreliefnow.com or calling (888) 260-9441. We investigate every report and respond.