W. Val Oveson

Wilford Val Oveson (born February 11, 1952) is an American Republican Party politician in the state of Utah. Oveson has held several state offices in Utah, most notably the third lieutenant governor of Utah, and the federal office of National Taxpayer Advocate for the Internal Revenue Service. He resides in Bountiful, Utah.

Biography

Early life and education Oveson was born in 1952 in Provo, Utah and raised in Orem, Utah, where his father worked for Geneva Steel. He attended Brigham Young University and earned a degree in accounting. He became a certified public accountant, working for an Orem accounting firm for several years before starting his own accounting and auditing business.

Soon after his second term expired, Oveson was appointed Chairman of the Utah State Tax Commission in 1993 by Governor Mike Leavitt. In this capacity he redesigned the computer systems and processes for the commission and created the Utah Tax Law Library on CD-ROM. He served in this position until 1998, when he was appointed the first head of the Office of the Taxpayer Advocate; this position had been created by legislation passed by Congress in 1996. In this role, Oveson led 2,300 employees in 74 locations across the U.S., reported independently to Congress on problems facing America's taxpayers, and recommended administrative and legislative solutions to stop the problems from recurring.

Oveson returned to the private sector after leaving the state government. He is currently a partner with Utah's largest accounting firm, WSRP, LLC, Accountant's and Business Consultants.