Taxpayer Advocacy Panel
Area 2 Committee Face-to Face
April 25, 2007
Raleigh, North Carolina

Thursday, April 25, 2007
Friday, April 26, 2007
Saturday, April 27, 2007

Members in Attendance:

Bill Bly (present 4/25, 26 &27)
Kimberly Brown (present 4/25, 26 & 27)
Paul Brubaker (present 4/25, 26 & 27)
Michael Bryant (present 4/25, 26 & 27)
Benson Chapman (present 4/25, 26 & 27)
Blanche Davis (present 4/25, 26 & 27)
Steve Fulkrod (present 4/25, 26 & 27)
Carolyn Hutchinson (present 4/26 & 27)
Sonny Kasturi (present 4/25, 26 & 27)
Judy Lester (present 4/25, 26 & 27)
Paul McElroy (present 4/25, 26 & 27)
Lynwood Sinnamon (present 4/25, 26 & 27)
Elizabeth Warnecki (present 4/25, 26 & 27)
William Yaeger (present 4/25, 26 & 27)

Members Absent:
Emilio Cecchi
JoAnn Davis
Robert Haines

Staff:

Frances Kleckley (DFO) (present 4/25, 26 & 27)
Nancy Ferree TAP Program Manager (present 4/25, 26 & 27)
Inez De Jesus TAP Program Analyst (present 4/25, 26 & 27)
Bernie Coston TAP Director (present 4/25, 26 & 27)
Anita Fields TAP Secretary (present 4/25, 26 & 27)

Guests:

Al Vinson SBSE Exam Territory Manager (present 4/26)
David Yeskoo Area Manager Stakeholder Liaison (present 4/26)
Neil Doroshenko Wage & Investment Territory Manager (present 4/26)
Avery Henline Tax Specialist, Free File Alliance (present 4/26)

Welcome and Announcements
Chair Lynwood Sinnamon covered a few items in the Welcome. Issue 3743- did not pass Joint Committee. Subcommittee must re- do. Annual report concern- is in draft form and has been circulated to communication committee. TAP member Handbook- going to soon be published- it can be accessed on TAPSpace.  Ben Chapman advised that issues to be elevated must go to the joint committee with adequate time for review.  Kimberly Brown mentioned that the joint committee process of reviewing elevated issues is complicated and chaotic.  Communication Strategy has been completed and all areas will receive a briefing from committee members.  Members should think about how they want it delivered.

Roll Call
Quorum of 9 was met; 13 members were present. 

Review/Approve Meeting Minutes- March 21, 2007
The minutes from the previous meeting were approved as written by consensus.

Recruitment Updates
Bernie Coston shared that the Recruitment for new panel members is going well.  In total, 381 applications were received, none from Puerto Rico at this time. Interviews will begin 11 June and run through 29 June 2007.

Bernie Coston—Director’s report
Commissioner resigned effective May 29, 2007. 
Recruitment ends Mon April 30. He wants to encourage anyone who may qualify to apply.  All applicants have received and email advising them to please submit their draft applications in final.  Interviews start 06/11 and run through /6/29 2007.  TAP Business Meeting will be held the week of December 10, 2007 at Fairmont in Georgetown. Improvements will be made on TAPSpace delivery and outreach workshops. Bernie also informed the panel that the TAP budget has been approved with very small reduction that will allow members to attend Tax Forums. Town Hall meetings—we had three (Brooklyn, NY, Omaha, NE, and Phoenix, AZ) they all went well. TAP Offices—McQuinn is on detail 120 days as LITC director.  Kayla Walker is acting TAP manager in Milwaukee. TAP Annual report is in draft. The meeting with the outgoing Commissioner most likely will not happen, but we may meet with the acting Commissioner.

Meeting Objectives
Bernie Coston requested that the committee discuss (1) issue elevation process (2) current creation of Annual report and how it can be improved.

Accepting or Rejecting Responses
TAP 05-072—Closed, proposal partially accepted.
TAP 05-073—Follow-up response- 3475 pending review by TAP status. Keep issue open.
By the end of the meeting the committee agreed to Close- proposal rejected for TAP 05-073 (issue 3475).
TAP 206-014 (issue 3736) Keep open, response not acceptable, want to schedule teleconference with the person who responded.
TAP 206-020 (issue 3925)—Closed proposal partially accepted.

Screening Committee New Issues- Steve Fulkrod

Issue 4163—Drop, Issue 4135—Parking lot with follow-up January 2008,
Issue 4182—Parking and assign subcommittee, Issue 4155—Hold until 04/27 meeting, Issue 4046—Parking, highest priority

Steve Fulkrod asked for another screening committee member since Lee Congdon resigned, Michael Bryant volunteered.

Issue 3944—Still active, Issue 3946—Parking and monitor, Issue 3997—Active, Issue 4011 (Form 8863- Education Credits)—Elevated, Issue 4061—Active.

Guest Speakers

Al Vinson—Small Business/Self Employed (SBSE) Exam Territory Manager.  He came and spoke with the committee about types of audits and trends in audit findings.

David Yeskoo—Area Manager, Stakeholder Liaison.  He spoke with the committee about the Issue Management Resolution System (IMRS).

IMRS Q&A
Time was set aside for panel members to ask questions.

Neil Doroshenko—Wage and Investments (W&I) Territory Manager.  He spoke with the committee about why people come to the TAC centers and who their customers are.  He also gave information on the self help concept which is the new TAC model.

Avery Henline—Tax specialist, Free File Alliance.  He spoke to the committee about partnering with the IRS and how they are trying to get it so that everyone can e-file.

Free File Q&A
Time was set aside for panel members to ask questions.

Subcommittee Breakout
Each subcommittee separated into their groups to discuss their individual issues that were assigned to them.

Outreach Activities Update—Kimberly Brown
Please get all outreach in to Inez De Jesus by 04/27/2007.  Kim stated that one-on-one is just as good as a group outreach.  For the month of Jan 20 outreaches, Feb 21, and Mar there was 27 outreaches.  We are having success in outreach.

Administrative
Lyn Sinnamon opened the meeting.  He made an announcement about Senator Akaka proposing bill to Congress reference free internet tax filing for all taxpayers.

Review Status of Elevated Issues
All members discussed the elevated issues spreadsheets and recorded status summary.  Members brainstormed ways to keep track of issues elevated to the IRS when there has been no response.  They also discussed other databases within the IRS and how TAP can gain more visibility of their issues and how TAP can get answers to issues elevated over the last three (3) years. Sonny Kasturi suggested putting all issues on IRMS and Mike Bryant suggested SAMS. Bernie Coston committed to everyone that by the Joint Committee’s F2F in June 2007 he will have a response.

Review Recommendation Status Summary
Issue 3743 (Form W-9 & Instructions)—Active—was returned from Joint Committee for editing—Nancy, Inez and subcommittee
Issue 3944 (Instructions Class Action Proceeds)—Active—Nancy will send out within 30 days (class action)
Issue 3946 (Filing of Charitable Remainder Trusts) Parking
Issue 3997 Terminate “S” Election)—Parking—Ben Chapman and Bob Haines will research
Issue 4061 (Form W-4 Make it Easier to - Minors)—Active-- submitted to Area 2 Quality Review
Issue 4046 (Use Last Four Digits of SSN on IRS Notices)—Active-- submitted to Area 2 Quality Review
Issue 4182 (Form 1099-R, Enhancements for seniors)—Parking (#1)
Issue 4105 (Modify Instructions on 1040 Sch D Asset Sales)—Dropped
Issue 4135 (Form 8889, Health Savings Account (HSA’s)—Dropped—sent to David Yeskoo
Issue 3951 (Pubs 560 & 590 Instructions-Simple IRA Rules)—Dropped
Issue 3685 (On Hold Wait Time All IRS Toll Free Lines)—Dropped
Issue 3228 (E-file Alternates and Interactive Forms)—Dropped
Issue 3868 (V)—Parking (monitor)
Issue 3948 (Form 944, Change Threshold)—Parking

TAP Space Overview
Judy Lester is having problems opening TAPSpace.  She was told to contact Inez De Jesus and she will help her out.  Everyone was encouraged to use TAPSpace to communicate, it is very effective.

Share Experiences with Tax Preparation
Panel members that were involved in tax preparations shared different experiences or problems they encountered during this tax season.

Wrap-up
Bill Bly asked about letter to welcome him from the treasury and wondered if Nina Olsen or someone will send him a thank you as he leaves.

TAP Member handbook has gone to publishing and we should have copies by first week in May.

Paul Brubaker suggested that answers to elevated issues be posted somehow to improveirs.org so previous members can know about answers once they leave panel.

Lyn Sinnamon advised all to get a separate email for TAP issues so as to stay informed.

Next Meeting via Teleconference:  May 16, 2007 at 2:30 PM ET

*Certification:  These minutes were approved by the TAP Area 2 committee by consensus on May 16, 2007.