The IRS has suspended its plan to close two Maine Taxpayer Assistance Centers after Congress attached a provision delaying all potential closures until further review.

In May the IRS proposed closing the South Portland and Augusta Taxpayer Assistance Centers as part of a cost-cutting measure that would have eliminated 68 of the 400 such offices nationwide.

However, the Senate Appropriations Committee has provided the full $10.68 billion the president requested for the IRS and the House passed at bill giving the department $10.56 million. The IRS’s 2005 budget is $10.24 million.

Both the Senate and House bills have provisions for the upcoming fiscal year that would stop the IRS from proceeding with the closures until the issue is studied more.

While the provision has not become law, the decision to suspend the closures will be in effect until any related actions required by the FY 2006 IRS appropriation have been completed.

Maine now has five Taxpayer Assistance Centers. The nearest two IRS offices to Southern Maine are in Lewiston and Manchester, N.H., according to the office of U.S. Rep. Tom Allen, D-Maine.