Taxpayer Advocacy Panel (TAP)
Area 2 Committee
Meeting Minutes

Committee’s Annual Meeting, Washington, DC
December 12, 2006; 8am-12pm

Designated Federal Official (DFO)
Frances W. Kleckley, Local Taxpayer Advocate, Columbia, SC

Members Present
Bill Bly, Wayne, PA
Paul Brubaker, York, PA,
Michael Bryant, Oakton, VA
Kimberly Brown, Blakeslee, PA
Ben Chapman, Wayne, NJ
Emilio Cecchi, N. Bethesda, MD, Vice Chair
Lee Congdon, Washington, DC
JoAnn Davis, Scott Depot, WV
Steven Fulkrod, Bel Air, MD
Robert Haines, Lebanon, NJ
Carolyn Hutchinson, Fletcher, NC
Sonny Kasturi, West Orange, NJ
Judy Lester, Chapel Hill
Paul McElroy, Pfafftown, NC, Chair
Lyn Sinnamon, Arlington, VA
Elizabeth Warnecki, Ladson, SC
William Yaeger, Alexandra, VA

Members Absent
Blanche Davis, Rehoboth Beach, DE

Staff Present
Nancy Ferree, TAP Program Manager
Inez E. De Jesus, TAP Program Analyst
Isai Pallango, TAP Staff & Note taker

Welcome
Chair Paul McElroy opened the meeting by welcoming everyone and asked new panel members to introduce themselves and provide personal information.

Roll Call
Quorum of 10 was met.

Finalize 2007 Meeting Dates, Times, & Location of Face to Face for 2007
Chair McElroy suggested scheduling meetings every month, and decide at each meeting if a meeting of the following month was necessary. McElroy stated face-to-face meeting should be held after tax season to accommodate panel members who are tax professionals.

Committee agreed to Chair McElroy’s suggestion and the face-to-face meeting is scheduled for April 26-28, 2007 in Raleigh, NC.

McElroy requested all panel members to complete annual self assessment after annual meeting.   

Chair McElroy also informed panel members there will be four Town Hall Meetings next year.

Old Business:

• Approve Proposal Issue 3944, Instruction on Tax Treatment of Litigation Settlement Proceeds-title changed to:  Instructions Class Actions Proceeds

Panel member Sonny Kasturi elaborated on issue and it was decided by all to re-write and simplify. Quality Review Team will work with Sonny on this proposal. Panel members agreed by consensus on this issue.

• Issue 3742-Fees for Private Letter Rulings-Returned From JC

Program Manager Nancy Ferree shared that the TAP staff conducted extensive research on this issue. Ferree and De Jesus met with an IRS attorney and learned that private letter rulings are requested prior to an event not after.  Private letter rulings are published and used as references or for guidance.  Panel members agreed by consensus not to pursue this issue further but to drop it.

• Issue 3743-Revise Form W-9

Program Manager Nancy Ferree stated that TAP staff has contacted the citizen.   Ferree and De Jesus researched issue further and were unable to find a widespread problem or it being a customer service issue.

Panel members Lee Congdon and Sonny Kasturi stated they contacted citizen. Analyst Barbara Toy reviewed this issue for the Joint Committee and sent it back for changes. Ferree and De Jesus will complete reviewing this issue and share outcome with panel members in the near future. Panel members agreed by consensus on this issue.

• Subcommittee Reports

a) Issue 3915, Transmission of Supporting Details for E-filed Returns
Panel member Sonny Kasturi elaborated on issue and stated Area One is working on this same issue. Park / monitor. Panel members agreed by consensus on this issue.

b) Issue 3951, Pubs 560 and 590 Instructions
Panel member Lyn Sinnamon stated that other members of the TAP are currently working on this issue. (Specifically Area 6)  It is similar but different. Panel members agreed by consensus to decide later on whether to continue to work this issue or not or to partner with Area 6.  This may be mandated by tax law and may have to be dropped.

Elections for Area 2 Chair and Vice Chair and Screening Committee Chair
Chair McElroy suggested to panel members to consider becoming Chair and Vice Chair of Area 2. Program Manager Nancy Ferree stated that a new Chair and Vice Chair is needed for new direction and leadership. Panel member Lyn Sinnamon was voted Chair of Area 2; as voted by all panel members. Panel members agreed by consensus on this issue.

Panel members Ben Chapman, Kimberly Brown, and Carolyn Hutchinson requested to be considered as possible Vice Chair. Kimberly Brown was voted Vice-Chair of Area 2; as voted by all panel members. Panel members agreed by consensus on this issue.

Congratulations were extended to the Chair Lyn Sinnamon and Vice Chair Kim Brown.  The new leadership moved into their new positions at this point.

Schedule Screening Committee Calls either 1 Hour or One Week Before the Area Committee Meeting
As discussed, the following are the 2007 Area 2 Screening Committee participants:  Steve Fulkrod (will lead the team), Emilio Cecchi, Bill Bly, J. Davis, and Lee Congdon.

Committee agreed that the screening committee should decide whether to meet one hour or one week before the area call.

New Business:

• Review Issue Process: It was discussed that issues will be reviewed for quality of content. Panel members agreed by consensus on this issue.  The 2007 Area 2 Quality Review is composed of the following:  Bob Haines, Paul McElroy, Steve Fulkrod, JoAnn Davis, and Nancy L. Ferree.

It was agreed that the Area 2 Chair is responsible for monitoring the issues elevated to the IRS via the Joint Committee.

• Review New Issue and Create Subcommittee:
• New Issue 4046, Use Last Four Digits of SSN on IRS Notices:  this new issue was not discussed in detail; it will be reviewed by the new screening committee team before the January 17, 2007 area call.  DFO Frances Kleckley shared that she believes she saw this issue in Systemic Advocacy (SAMS) database and that it is already being addressed.
• Issue 3946, Filing of Charitable Remainder Trusts, this issue was moved from Parking lot to Active Status; Subcommittee:  Bob Haines, Bill Bly, Bill Yaeger, Sonny Kasturi, and Judy Lester.

• Issue 3948, Form 944, Change Threshold, DFO Frances Kleckley believes that this issue is in SAMS; committee decided to leave in Parking lot status and to monitor it.

• Issue 3997, Terminate “S” Election, this issue was moved from Parking lot to Active Status; Subcommittee:  Bob Haines, Kim Brown, Bill Yaeger, and Ben Chapman.

• Issue 4011, Form 8863, Education Credits, this issue was moved from Parking lot to Active Status; Subcommittee:  Elizabeth Warnecki, Paul McElroy, Paul Brubaker, and Carol Hutchinson.

• Subcommittee Breakout Session: Due to time constraints, there was no time to breakout into groups.  Nor was there time to review the current Parking Lot issues that are in monitoring mode.

Re-visit Issue 3228 E-file (Parking/Monitoring Status)
Panel members Paul Brubaker and Elizabeth Warnecki stated they are in the process of re-visiting this issue. Brubaker and Warnecki will review issue and share their findings with the entire committee.  Panel members agreed.

Public Input
No public input.

Closing Assessments - Q & A
Chair Lyn Sinnamon shared that he was looking forward to working with the area 2 committee and he provided valuable input on becoming a productive panel member. No questions were asked of the chair.

All were reminded to fill out the meeting survey.

Chair adjourned the meeting. 

Next Teleconference Meeting: January 17, 2007 at 2:30PM ET