Area 2 Committee Meeting Minutes

Date: April 19, 2005
Via: Teleconference

Acting Designated Federal Official (DFO)

• Eileen DeLeo, Senior Analyst, Philadelphia Local Taxpayer Advocate’s Office

Members Present

• Bill Bly, Wayne, PA
• Paul Brubaker, York, PA, Co Vice-Chair
• Anthony DiMartino, Toms River, NJ, Chair
• C. Morgan Edwards, Charlotte, NC
• Srinivasan Kasturi, West Orange, NJ
• Steve Kreisler, Potomac, MD
• Robert Maziarz, Hainesport, NJ
• Patrick McCombie, Wilmington, DE
• Theodore Perros, Washington, D.C.
• Martin Romeril, Bethlehem, PA
• Steve Rue, Mechanicsville, VA
• Lynwood Sinnamon, Arlington, VA
• Agnes Tillerson, Erie, PA
• Faith Vinikoor, Baltimore, MD
• Elizabeth Warnecki, Ladson, SC
• Lillian (Beadsie) Woo, Durham, NC

Members Not Present

• David Cain, Marlinton, WV
• Christine Hurley, Lorton, VA
• Paul McElroy, Winston-Salem, NC, Co Vice-Chair

TAP Staff

• Nancy L. Ferree, TAP Program Manager
• Inez E. De Jesus, TAP Program Analyst/Note Taker

Welcome Announcements/Review Agenda
Chair DiMartino opened the meeting by welcoming everyone; he announced that Eileen DeLeo will be the acting Designated Federal Official (DFO) and Paul Brubaker will be chairing today’s meeting.

Roll Call
Quorum of 11 was met; 16 members present.

Joint Committee Report
Before turning the meeting over to Brubaker,

• DiMartino inquired if everyone had received the “Application for Direct Deposit”. Edwards and Woo indicated that they had not received it; Ferree indicated that she will ensure that the secretary gets these out as soon as possible to Edwards and Woo.

• DiMartino shared this year’s Tax Forum will be held in New York City, from August 9 -11, 2005. He inquired if anyone was interested in attending; Ferree shared that the staff will most likely be looking for those closest to New York due to budget concerns.

• DiMartino shared that 105 Taxpayer Assistance Centers (also known as walk-in offices) will be closing and this will be causing distress to many taxpayers. The TAP Chair and National Taxpayer Advocate are very interested in why was TAP not informed or asked for input before these decisions were made. The Joint Committee will be writing a letter to the IRS expressing their concerns, and if anyone was interested in the drafting of this letter to please let him know.

• DiMartino shared the TAP Handbook is being worked by the Communications Committee and this should be a “living document” for all TAP Members. There is a new Issue Referral Form to be used by the area committees. Inez confirmed that on April 18, 2005, the Chair’s March 2005 Report to the Joint Committee was sent to all area 2 members. From now on this report will be shared so that everyone is kept informed of everything that is going on.

• During the May Joint Committee’s face-to-face meeting, one of the agenda items is to clarify how Outreach Activities may be captured by panel members. Ferree reminded everyone that anytime a panel member meets with a TAP audience, the staff needs to know in order to place this information in the TAP Speaker’s Database. The “Speakers Report” form needs to be filled out and sent to the analyst on a timely manner. If you will be requesting reimbursement for mileage, the manager needs to know ahead of time.

• Ferree shared that recently DFO Mapp had invited the Pennsylvania members closest to Philadelphia to attend a Stakeholders Relationship Management meeting on April 26th, and a telephone line has been made available so that those who can not physically attend, may call in. Eileen Deleo confirmed with Brubaker and Romeril if they still planned on participating and if had they received the information sent via email.

• Sinnamon reported that the current Speakers Spreadsheet is not clear, and that this is being addressed by the Communications Committee which he also serves on.

Review/Approve Previous Meeting Minutes - March 15, 2005
These minutes were approved as written by consensus and Brubaker thanked Inez for the detailed note taking.

Review Pending Action Items
Nancy Ferree shared that with the exception of the following item which has been completed; all the others are agenda items for today’s meeting:

• Page 4, March 15, 2005 minutes, New Issue #3456 has been shared with the entire committee.

Review TAP 04-076-Change TAP Name Response
The committee agreed by consensus that this previously elevated recommendation may be placed in the following status: “Closed, Proposal Rejected”.

Review of Issue Procedures
Ferree provided the committee with a brief scenario of how issues are received and preliminary research is conducted prior to submission for the committee to review.

Staff (Ferree) Updates on Status of Specific Issues:

1. Simplify Communications to Taxpayers (#2389)- DiMartino shared that the Joint Committee had reviewed the elevated recommendation and agreed with the very good observations provided but requested that more specific information is needed. Next steps: Perros agreed to review the latest 2004 Publication 519, U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens, and work on this and when he drafts a recommendation he will share it at that point with all and will welcome any comments at that time.
   
   Ferree shared that according to the Joint Committee minutes of March 16, 2005, all the committee chairs were to review the elevated recommendation on “Simplify Communications to Taxpayers” and send any comments they may have directly to her. For the record, Ferree has not received any information from anyone.
   
2. Timely Response Required on IRS Envelopes (# 3390)-Ferree shared what she had learned from Subject Matter Experts on this, that placing time sensitive notices on envelopes may be “borderline” disclosure when it may show to others that an individual has a tax issue. The committee discussed further and agreed by consensus to drop this issue.
   
3. Change Form 1065 Schedule D (Ready for Consensus) (#3392)-the recommendation to add two additional lines to this form was reviewed by all, and agreed by consensus to elevate and it will be included with the Chair’s April 2005 Report to the Joint Committee.
   
4. Suggestion Provided – Form 2553 (# 3235)-Ferree shared that the most recent revised Form 2553 has the recommended changes that Rue had shared directly with the IRS during an outreach event. The committee agreed that an informational letter should be sent to the Joint Committee in order to record this event. Committee agreed by consensus that letter be drafted and it will be included with the Chair’s April 2005 Report to the Joint Committee.
   
5. Seniors Problems with Tax Matters (# 3234)- Ferree shared that she and analyst have been in communication with Tax Law Specialists and the following has been learned:
   • New Form 1040S- there is no information yet that may be shared, but the staff will continue to monitor so that that this committee may be able to participate and provide input from the ground floor once it is ready to be implemented.
   • Publication 554, Older Americans Tax Guide- was last revised on November 2004, and is most likely to be reviewed annually and updated accordingly. Most forms and publications with changes are submitted in draft form by August and after being reviewed by different levels of management, so that it is ready to go to printing in a timely manner for the new tax year. This is a perfect time to submit any suggestions the committee may have. The key is that recommendations need to be very specific.
   • Issue 3456, regarding “An Education Program on IRA’s to Seniors” will be incorporated with this issue that already addresses Seniors Problems.
     
6. IRS Take Home Pay Web Calculator (#3391)- Ferree shared what the staff has done so far and that a subject matter expert does not exist since this type of calculator is not available. There was also discussion on Publication 919, and the fact that withholding is governed by the Department of the Treasury since they have direct input. Next steps: Sub-committee Chair Kreisler thanked the staff for this information and stated that the sub-committee will review the information received.
   
7. Self-Employed Payment Procedures (#3420)-Ferree shared that Area 3 had addressed this issue earlier and learned via research that estimated payments are statutory. The committee agreed by consensus that this issue needs to be dropped and a closing letter be sent to the Citizen from Pennsylvania who had submitted this issue.

Sub-committee Reports from Sub-Chairs
Update of Efiling Alternates (#3228)- No information available at this time.

Review New Issues-Sub-committee Assignments

1. Distribution of Publication 17, Not in Final Format (#3473)- Ferree introduced this issue; panel discussed how since the Law officially changes on October 22nd, documents like Pub 17 are used for either training purposes or need to be made available to the public by a certain date, and need to be printed by a certain timeframe; there is no control on this matter. Committee agreed by consensus to drop this issue since there is nothing the panel can do and there is no citizen contact information.
   
2. IRS Confirmation of Efiling (#3475)-Kasturi presented this issue to the panel: in essence, taxpayers served by the AARP/TCE program want confirmation from the IRS and State showing acceptance of their returns and that was one of the reasons cited for their reluctance to efile. Committee agreed by consensus to accept his new issue and a SUB-COMMITTEE WAS FORMED which will be chaired by Kasturi; other members: Brubaker, Sinnamon, and Warnecki.
   
3. Education Program on IRA’s to Seniors (#3456)- As previously discussed, the committee agreed that this issue will be worked in conjunction with Issue # 3234, Seniors Problems with Tax Matters. Sinnamon is the lead chair of the sub-committee on Seniors’ Issues. The National Taxpayer Advocate has a legislative proposal on retirement plans.
   
4. North Carolina Charter Schools (NO#) - C. Morgan Edwards briefly shared that this is not a TAP issue. Inez stated that she had not received any information from the Kings Mountain schools as discussed during the last meeting.

Other Pending Issues
Usability of IRS Website (#3238)- No information at this time.

Add Limited Liability (LLC) Option to Form SS-4 (#3295) – Kasturi had sent out information regarding his recommendation to revise this form, and committee agreed by consensus that he had done a good job and this proposal/recommendation is ready to be elevated.

Outreach Efforts

• Brubaker shared that an article about his TAP selection was mentioned in his alumni magazine: Shippensburg University.
• Warnecki also had a newspaper article in the Goose Gazette: “Ladson SC Woman Selected for IRS Advocacy Panel”.
• Sinnamon had the opportunity to speak with the Virginia Local Taxpayer Advocate. He learned that there will be no visits to the Northern Virginia. No responses from Chambers of Commerce either.
• Kasturi sent letters to the Chambers of Commerce.

Public Input
None

Closing Assessment
Ferree provided all with an update on Recruitment. She shared that currently there is a need for applicants from Delaware, D.C., and West Virginia. Ferree informed the panel that if they would spread the word to the co-workers and friends this will greatly be appreciated.

The Meeting Satisfaction Survey Form will be placed by Inez on TAP Speak/or sent by email to all; please take time out to fill out and return; this is a very helpful tool for the staff.

Brubaker adjourned the meeting and reminded everyone that the next teleconference meeting will be held on May 24, 2005 at 1:30PM ET.

The area 2 committee approved these minutes by consensus on May 24, 2005.