Thursday, May 6, 2007
Friday, May 7, 2007
Saturday, May 8, 2007

Designated Federal Official
Teresa Thompson

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

Staff
Judi Nicholas, TAP Program Manager
Janice Spinks, TAP Analyst
Kymberly Axtell, TAP Secretary

Guest –Judi Nicholas
Shelley Ashurex, Acting Local Taxpayer Advocate for Portland
David Vawser, Senior Analyst, Responsible for Outreach within TAS

Opening—Teresa Thompson
Teresa officially opens the meeting

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Welcome/Announcements
Herb welcomed everyone and briefly reviewed the agenda.

Judi announced that the Seattle office has a new analyst; Tim Shepard will start May 24th and comes from ACS as a manager.

She also reported that Bill Mezger will be filling in behind her as the Seattle TAP Manager while she is away on her 60-day detail. He is an experienced manager within TAS and just needs to learn TAP. He will also be starting the 24th of May.

Introductions— Everyone took the opportunity to introduce themselves and the group welcomed panel member Beverly Phillips who is replacing Oregon member Lea Kear.

Outreach Corner-Herb Bohrer
The outreach report was presented to the committee in year to date form. The Committee indicated they preferred the year to date format over the monthly format.

Charnia Parrish reported that she did a radio interview and various press releases with the paper.

Chris met the LTA and had the opportunity to meet the Governmental Liaison and he sent out 38 letters and put TAP link on his face book page.

Judi noted that LTA’s typically meet with Congressional Liaisons and she encouraged members to partner with them.

Joan suggested members get in contact with the Senior Analyst opposed to the LTA, since she has most communication with the Senior Analyst.

Herb suggested that members find their local LITC (Low Income Tax Center), which is another good outlet for outreach.

Judi noted if that if members wanted to partner with LITC to get in touch with the LTA or go to web and Google LITC’s and feel free to show up and introduce themselves.

Judi said that TAP will be doing all six of the Nationwide Tax Forums this year and there will be one Area 6 and one Area 7 person will attend each forum. The two locations will be San Diego, CA and Las Vegas, NV and there will be focus group sessions.

Charnia reviewed the Albuquerque, NM Town Hall in February; there were 18 participants and most stayed for the focus group session.

Dean reviewed the Denver, CO Town Hall in March; there were 35 participants and most were with the CPA society and there was one gentleman who brought his individual issue which was productive.

Kirsten suggested that TAP look into partnering with LITC during the annual meeting.

Recruitment—due to newspaper articles, television spots, etc, the applications increased significantly.

Joint Committee Report-Nancy Eik
Nancy reported that the Joint Committee reviewed, elevated, and approved several issues. They also elevated five issue projects to the IRS.

Nancy reviewed the various TAP Staff that were taking on new roles and leaving the staff or going on detail.

Judi spoke about the tracking project which she is involved with on the Joint Committee, providing some background on the project and how it came about; and then gave an update on where the project was.

Project Committee Reports—
EITC (Earned Income Tax Committee)—Eileen Birge spoke about two projects being worked within the EITC Project Committee:

• Training module for VITA (Volunteers Income Tax Assistance) where they are developing the module and gathering information
• To create a presentation for better explanation of who is eligible for and who can claim EITC (Earned income tax credit) for better use by people who are able to claim it.

SBSE (Small Business Self Employed)—Harlan Barnett said that the committee is working on five projects:

• IRS Calendar-project completed and sent to the IRS;
• Solution Saturdays-should be done within 30-45 days;
• Voluntary Agreements (TIPS)-should be done by August;
• Audit Technique Guides-used by auditors when they go out on audits;
• Chore Payment-will begin soon

Field Assistance—Dean Conder reported that the committee is working on a project that would allow individuals to make payments at banks and TAC (Taxpayer Assistance Centers) and allowing truckers the ability of getting their tabs by expanding to third party venders. Another project was to get more brochures to better explain what the TAC is.

Notice Improvement—Rick Holland reported that the committee reviews all notices prior to being sent to taxpayers to ensure the notice is well read and that the correct message is being conveyed to the taxpayer. The committee is also responsible for ensuring the IRS’s way of formatting the notices match what the scoring sheet gives as to effectively make the notice work.

Communication—Chris Paustian reported that they are still trying to get the improveIRS.org on the congressional website.
Internal Communication-Karla Toomer requested from members what they want or need from a website. She says that she works with the surveys and customer satisfaction.

Annual Report-Joan Gustafson reported that the annual report is almost completed and editing it and developing the cover.

Tax Forms & Pubs/MLI (multi-lingual iniciate)—Charnia Parrish reviewed the different forms that the committee has been working on. She indicated Patty Wagner is the Program Owner and is also the TAP liaison.

IRS Organizational Structure-
This issue originated from a Town Hall from a taxpayer who was complaining that there was not any local problem solving help. The issue is how to bring the local knowledge to the forefront.
Judi provided the committee the background pieces, provided pictures of the before and after of the reorganization of the RRA98. Suggestions were made to think of ways to attack this issue, what kind of data to gather, how to figure out what services are and are not working for the customer, where to find the right data etc.

Discussion by the full committee resulted in Area 6 needing to gather more information so they can decide whether or not to pursue the issue further. Judi stated that she would go back to Shawn, to get further information as to exactly what Nina wanted to know.

Approval of April Meeting Minutes
The meeting minutes were approved as submitted.

End of day announcements.

Friday, May 7, 2010

Herb opened the meeting

Judi reviewed what to expect and how the subcommittees will work.
-Most of the work takes place within the subcommittees

The subcommittees broke into their respective committee’s for the remainder of the day.

Miscellaneous Subcommittee Report- Nancy Eik
Notes were taken by Judi Nicholas. See information below for meeting details. .

IRS Services Subcommittee Report- Harlan Barnett
Notes taken by Kymberly Axtell

Taxpayer Burden Subcommittee – Rick Holland
Notes were taken by Janice Spinks; see information below for meeting details.

Judi handed out everyone’s biographies for their review and asked them to make changes and return them.

Meeting closed for the day.

Saturday, May 8, 2010

Taxpayer Burden Subcommittee Report- Rick Holland

• #17282 (Offer In Compromise Appeal – No Decision by the IRS) – The subcommittee discussed different ways to approach this issue. They have requested research. The full committee also discussed this issue.
• #17336 (IRS Envelopes Are Too Small for Additional Documentation) - The committee discussed this issue and agreed with the subcommittee’s recommendation, to drop this issue. Area 7 referred an envelope issue to the IRS and the subcommittee did not think it would be cost effective to change the system, the subcommittee did not believe the problem was systemic and not fixable…a small percentage of taxpayers are affected by this.
• #17323 (POA – Representative Info Takes Too Long to Load on Accounts) – The subcommittee reported that the IRS was aware of the problem and they decided to return this issue to the parking lot and follow-up in six months to see if the process has been fixed.

IRS Services Subcommittee Report – Harlan Barnett

• #5320 (Minimize SSN on Correspondence/Lessen Identity Theft) - The subcommittee recommended this issue be closed as issue fully accepted. Area 6 Committee agreed with the recommendation.
• #17325 (Changes Fixed – Not Really Fixed) – The subcommittee will begin the elevation write-up for this issue.
• #17345 (Practitioner Hotline – Can’t Answer Questions and Long Wait) – The subcommittee recommended this issue be dropped, system in place and working. Area 6 Committee agreed with the recommendation.
• #17327 (EFTPS – No Way to Make Non-Monetary Changes) – The subcommittee recommended this issue be dropped; there is no direct link to the IRS due to security reasons. Area 6 Committee agreed with the recommendation.
• #17332 (1040 Instruction Packet – No Master List of Forms and Pubs) – The subcommittee recommended this issue be dropped due to a system in place, which is working. Area 6 Committee agreed with the recommendation.
• #16876 (Toll-free Line – Wait is Long for Cell Users) – The subcommittee will research this issue and gather more information. Harlan will email Jim Hannas to ask question as to whether the IRS is tracking cell versus landline usage.
• #17329 (E-file Profile Each Business Required to List Forms Filed) – The subcommittee recommended this issue be dropped, there is a system in place and it is working. Area 6 Committee agreed with the recommendation.
• #17298 (Exams/Audits – Not Forwarding Documents for Processing) - The subcommittee recommended this issue be dropped, there is a system in place. Area 6 Committee agreed with the recommendation.
• #17300 (Contacting a Revenue Officer for Case Status) – The subcommittee placed this issue back in the parking lot. They would like to follow-up with the issue and see if the IRM is changed. They will make a decision in June or when there is confirmation that the IRM has been changed.

Miscellaneous Subcommittee Report – Nancy Eik

• #17318 (Identity Theft – No Method for Employer to Report to IRS) – The subcommittee recommended this issue be dropped, this is an SSA issue rather than an IRS issue. Area 6 Committee agreed with the recommendation.
• #17087 (Licensed Tax Preparer – Wants Test Online) – The subcommittee requested research for this issue.
• #17297 (Form 2848 Power of Attorney POA) – The subcommittee recommended this issue be dropped, this issue was received prior to the revision of the Form 2848. Area 6 Committee agreed with the recommendation.
• #17140 (Feedback Section Needed on IRS Website) – The subcommittee will keep and work this issue.
• #17267 (Schedule A Line 1 Instructions – Unclear) – The subcommittee recommended this issue be dropped, they do not believe this is a systemic issue and the instructions and forms appear to be clear. Area 6 Committee agreed with the recommendation.
• #17283 (Penalties – Timely Sent Forms 1099 & W-2) – The subcommittee recommended this issue be dropped. The IRS does not have sufficient resources to work these issues and there is insufficient documentation to substantiate the issue. Area 6 agreed with the recommendation.
• #17294 (Form 1099B – Reporting Repeated Redemptions) – The subcommittee recommended this issue be dropped. This issue has been addressed with the new requirements for reporting of basis in financial assets. Area 6 agreed with the recommendation.
• #17295 (IRS Systems) – The subcommittee recommended this issue be dropped. There are too many processing variables in the audit reconsideration process to determine whether this is a systemic issue. Area 6 agreed with the recommendation.
• #17296 (Refunds – Examining Requests for Refunds) - The subcommittee requested research on this issue.
• #17299 (Notice CP-2100 Paper Data Sent Unsecure) – The subcommittee requested research on this issue.
• #17301 (Refund Received – Using Different SSNS and W-2s) - The subcommittee requested research on this issue.
• #17316 (403b Participants – Exempt from Retirement Contribution Card) – The subcommittee dropped this issue at the last meeting because it is a TEGE issue and TAP is not chartered to work TEGE issues. Area 6 agreed with the recommendation.
• #17330 (Form 2553) – The subcommittee recommended this issue be dropped. The instructions contain information about when to file. Area 6 agreed with the recommendation.
• #17338 (Form 9465 – Electronic Funds Withdrawal info Misleading) – The subcommittee will keep this issue. They would like to invite the practitioner to an upcoming call and obtain more details about the issue.

New Issue Committee—Nancy Eik
Nancy reviewed the issues and the committee, by consensus, decided to drop each of the issues noted below:

• Issue 16818 – Change to Form 1040EZ – reason: not systemic
• Issue 16889 – Rude Employees – reason: tried to call and email taxpayer , reply received
• Issue 16962 – Chapter 13-Should Not Hold Refunds – reason: legislative
• Issue 17010 – EIC-Should be Called Limited Income Credit – reason: would require legislation
• Issue 17025 –Form 1099 Not Available on Racks – reason: outside of TAP’s scope
• Issue 17040 –IRA Distribution-Shouldn’t be Taxed on Low Income – reason: legislative
• Issue 17079 –Form 1040A-Unable To Include Energy Credits – reasons: 1040A is for specific use. There is only so much room on 1040A and cannot add to it, otherwise it would a 1040.
• Issue 17082 –IRA Withdrawals No way to Claim as Capital Gains
• Issue 17083 –Tax Liens-Subordination – reason: individual issue, not systemic
• Issue 17086 –ITIN-Can’t Obtain to Report to Child Support Enforcement – reason: individual issue
• Issue 17088 –Form 1099 Series-Want to Submit Online – reason: issue has been elevated by Area 7
• Issue 17139 –First Time Home Buyers Credit returns taking longer than 12 weeks – reason: short term issue
• Issue 17141 –Investment Allowable Loss Timeframe Too Extreme – reason: legislative
• Issue 17178 –Corrected 1099 Needed-Company Bankrupt – reason: taxpayer was assigned an advocate in Kansas City. Seattle advocates contacted taxpayer.
• Issue 17393 –Income Averaging for General Taxpayers – reason: legislative

The Committee, by consensus, decided to keep the below issues:

• Issue 17093 –Enforcement-Non Filing Taxpayers
• Issue 17209 –E-File Form 8283
• Issue 17280 –CAF Representative/Client Listing-Want to print—Committee will focus on the E-Services part of issue

Dean brought up the fact that even though issues are dropped due to legislation, there should still be a way to forward the issues to Nina Olson.

Judi stated she would address this with Shawn.

Travel Vouchers—Kymberly Axtell
Kymberly handed out travel vouchers and requested the committee sign and confirm once they received their reimbursement after processing for better tracking purposes.

Recruiting—Judi Nicholas
Judi reported that the total number of applications for Washington at deadline was 83 applications. Ranking would be held May 5-10 and interview schedule would be completed and interviews would take place in June. Bill Mezger would participate in the interviews and the LTA (Local Taxpayer Advocate would not be used during the interviews this year. The interview schedule would be sent out via email once complete.

Timeline – It is anticipated that they will be finished with interviews, waivers, tax checks by mid-July

She also reported that TITGA critiqued TAP on ensuring that a waiver would be done for tax compliance for all panel members.

Judi recommends while doing outreach to be thoughtful of what kind of questions might arise from the taxpayers question and to be sure to get better contact information for future use.

Summary of Action Items – Janice Spinks
Janice summarized the action items from the meeting accordingly;

• Judi noted that LTA’s typically meet with Congressional Liaisons and she encouraged members to partner with them...
  Action: Judi will inquire about this.
• Kirsten – suggested we partner with LITC’s during the annual meeting...
  Action: Judi will pass this along to her colleagues to see if this can be arranged.
• Judi – may be able to find out what’s happening with annual report in terms of who is working on the reorganization issue so that TAP can partner before going further...
  Action: Judi will address this with Shawn.
• Action: Judi – will have Shawn go back to Nina and inquire about the reorganization issue...looking at re-org and impact of services and spoke with TAP about working the issue...ask what was her thought process of what she would like TAP to address...better define the issue how to attack it.
• Action: Judi will consult with management staff about parking lot issues and obtaining more information
• Action: Janice/Kym will complete a survey regarding the FTF...info will be sent via email...responses will be compiled by Kym
• Action: A Thank you letter will be sent to Wayne Davis for the Ogden tour
• Action: Judi will address with Shawn how to pass on issues that are legislative...Herb will also address this at the JC level

Rick began acknowledgments of Dean...Herb acknowledged Dean as well and indicated he learned a great deal from him last year as Chair...Harlan indicated Dean has been a great friend and mentor and thanked him for his contributions to the TAP.

Closing—Teresa Thompson, DFO
Teresa officially closed the meeting.