Designated Federal Official (DFO)
Janice Spinks, acting DFO

Attendance
Harlan Barnett
Kirsten Ball
Eileen Birge
Herb Bohrer, Chair
Nancy Eik, Vice-chair
Joan Gustafson
Rick Holland
Charnia Parrish
Chris Paustian
Karla Toomer

Absent
Dean Conder
Lea Kear

Staff
Kymberly Axtell, TAP Secretary
Nina Pang, TAP Analyst
Janice Spinks, TAP Analyst

Staff Absent
Teresa Thompson, DFO
Judi Nicholas, TAP Program Manager

Opening – Designated Federal Official
Janice Spinks opened the meeting.

Roll Call
Nina took roll and a quorum was met.

Welcome/Announcements/Review Agenda
Herb welcomed the members and reviewed the agenda. Janice informed the Committee that Judi and Teresa were attending a conference and she would be the acting DFO. Janice introduced the Seattle office’s new secretary, Kymberly Axtell. Members were advised to expect transition of administrative duties in the near future.

Citizen Input
There was no citizen input.

Approval of December and January Meeting Minutes
The committee reviewed the December meeting minutes.
DECISION: The committee approved the meeting minutes from the December meeting as submitted.

The committee reviewed the January meeting minutes.
DECISION: The committee approved the meeting minutes from the January meeting as submitted.

Outreach Corner
Eileen shared that she had a series of successful outreach events. She had connected with her local Asset Building Coalition.

IRS Services Subcommittee Report
Harlan updated the committee on the IRS Services Subcommittee’s issues.

• #4389 (CP 2000 – Unable to Reach an Employee) – This is one of the subcommittee’s active issues. This pertains to the IRS CP 2000 phone line. This issue has been combined with their next active issue, #5587. Both pertain to the IRS phone system. The subcommittee received a lot of information pertaining to the phone system problem. Harlan will consolidate all of the information the subcommittee has received. The subcommittee hopes to make a decision at their next meeting.
• #5587 (Practitioner Hotline – Can’t Answer Questions and Long Wait) This issue pertains to the Practitioner Hotline, the employees who staff that line are not able to answer specific tax questions and the wait times are long.

Miscellaneous Subcommittee Report
Nancy updated the committee on the Miscellaneous Subcommittee’s issues.

• #4395 (Grandparents / Grandchildren Added to the Definition of Immediate Family) – Nancy prepared a rebuttal to the IRS’s response and forwarded this to TAP staff. The IRS said they would add an example in the instructions and the IRS manual. However, the subcommittee recommended the Internal Revenue Manual (IRM) be changed, with the added definition, opposed to just adding an example. Judi currently has the rebuttal.

ACTION ITEM: Janice will follow-up with Judi on this issue.

• #5568 (Brochure for Tax Situations Involving the Elderly) – Nancy sent an email to Judi, looking for a response from the Forms and Pubs analyst.
• #4327 (Penalties – Timely Sent Forms 1099 & W-2) – The subcommittee is waiting for research, which is being completed by TAP analyst Marisa Knispel.

Taxpayer Burden Subcommittee Report
Rick updated the committee on the Taxpayer Burden Subcommittee’s issues.

• #5223 (Offer in Compromise Appeal – No Decision By the IRS) – The subcommittee has a lot of research on the Offer In Compromise subject. They are still working on how they want to pursue this issue. They will be looking at how to narrow the scope of this issue.
• #5280 (5280 (Wording of Letter 525 (Rev. 9/2008)) – The subcommittee reviewed and discussed the IRS response. Based on the response, they recommended this issue be closed, partially accepted.
  DECISION: Area 6 agreed with the subcommittee’s recommendation.

Joint Committee (JC) Business – Herb provided the following information from the JC:

• The 2010 Annual Meeting would be held the week of December 5th.
• The Joint Committee is working on an issue tracking system so issues sent forward to the IRS can be tracked by TAP.
• Some members are concerned about the need for a strategic plan within the TAP. The plan would potentially call for all members retiring after a three year term... A subcommittee has been formed to work on a strategic plan for TAP.
• Recruitment will start March 15th and go through April 30th. If any member knows of anyone who is interested, they should watch for the announcement, which is due to come out within the next few weeks.
• The Joint Committee is in the process of finalizing the quality review process. Harlan is Area 6’s representative and hopes to be able to report on the status at the next Area 6 meeting.

Recap Action Items and Timeframes
Nina recapped the action items.

Janice will follow-up on issue #4395 with Judi and she will follow-up on issue #5568 with the Forms and Pubs analyst.

Town Hall Meeting
Janice reported that the date for the Denver Town Hall Meeting has been changed. The date has been changed to March 18, 2010. Janice thanked the members for responding as to whether or not they could participate based on the date change. Janice will forward the list to Judi.

The Albuquerque Town Hall Meeting will be held February 16th. Shawn, Judi, Janice, and Nina will attend in addition to employees from the Albuquerque Local Taxpayer Advocate’s office. TAP members attending will be Charnia Parrish, Herb Bohrer and Harlan Barnett.

TAP staff will keep the Area 6 members updated on any Town Hall details.

Member Comments
Kirsten is working on an IRS calendar project for her SBSE Issue Committee. She asked if panel members could look at the calendar online and offer her any comments. She also asked if any panel members knew of any small business owners who would be willing to provide input on the calendar. If anyone has time or knows of a small business owner, please email Kirsten.
ACTION ITEM: Nina will send the IRS Calendar link to Area 6 members.

Janice will schedule a meeting with all the subcommittee leads to screen the remaining issues which were not reviewed at the annual meeting. TAP staff is in the process of updating all the issues to the new SAMS database.

Rick asked how soon they will know where the Area 6 Face-to-Face meeting will be held. Janice did not know how far along the TAP staff was with the process. It is anticipated that staff will have an update during the next meeting.

Closing – Designated Federal Official
Janice thanked everyone and closed the meeting.