Taxpayer Advocacy Panel (TAP)
Area 2 Committee’s Teleconference Meeting
August 15, 2007 @ 2:30 PM ET

Designated Federal Official (DFO)
Lois Lombardo, Local Taxpayer Advocate, Philadelphia, PA (Absent)
Nancy Ferree, TAP Program Manager (Acting DFO)

Members Present
Bill Bly, Wayne, PA
Kimberly Brown, Blakeslee, PA, Vice-Chair
Paul Brubaker, York, PA
Michael Bryant, Oakton, VA
Ben Chapman, Wayne, NJ
Emilio Cecchi, N. Bethesda, MD
Blanche Davis, Rehoboth Beach, DE
Steven Fulkrod, Bel Air, MD
Robert Haines, Lebanon, NJ
Sonny Kasturi, West Orange, NJ
Paul McElroy, Pfafftown, NC
Lynwood Sinnamon, Arlington, VA, Chair
Elizabeth Warnecki, Ladson, SC

Members Absent
Carolyn Hutchinson, Fletcher, NC
William Yaeger, Alexandria, VA
 
Staff Present
Inez E. De Jesus, TAP Program Analyst
Anita Fields, Tap Staff Secretary & Note Taker

Guest Present
None

Welcome and Roll Call
Chair Lyn Sinnamon opened the meeting by welcoming everyone and asked TAP staff Anita Fields to take roll.

Quorum of (8) was met.

Joint Committee Report
Lyn Sinnamon reported that on 16 August members of TAP will be meeting with the Acting Commissioner along with his replacement with a copy of the 2006 TAP Annual Report. Ben Chapman asked will it be available to the rest of the TAP members.  It will be available to be accessed online, but a hard copy will not. 

Lyn express that in Bernie’s report there are two more Tax Forums left.  Lyn asked Nancy Ferree if Bernie had made a decision on his selection for his Secretary and Senior Analyst. He selected Patti Robb as his new Secretary, but has not made a selection on the Senior Analyst. Recruitment is on schedule. 

Lyn also informed the committee that the Treasury/IRS has announced its 2007-2008 Priority Guidance of 303 projects and the link to the report would be made available to anyone interested in the report.

TAP Chair election process is being discussed.  They are trying to decide when the elections will be held, how to nominate, if you can self nominate, etc.  Lyn is asking for input on the procedure for electing Joint Committee Chair.  He also expressed how important it is to update your bios on TAPSpace.

Review / Confirm Meeting Minutes: July 18, 2007
These minutes were approved by consensus.

New Issues (s)
Issue 4273, TAP information in Form 1040 Instructions
The screening sub-committee is recommending that this issue be transferred to the Ad Hoc Committee.  Inez stated that last week the Forms and Pubs program owner asked the Ad Hoc Committee to review the instructions for the 1040.  By consensus the Area 2 Committee agrees to forward to the Ad Hoc Committee.  Ben Chapman and Lyn agreed to work with Ad Hoc Subcommittee on this issue. Deadline to respond is 8/31/2007.

Report on TAC Visits by Area 2 Committee Members since the Last Teleconference Meeting
Kimberly Brown reported that there have been no TAC visits.
Ben Chapman informed the committee that Nina Olsen mentioned the TAC visits performed by TAP in her Annual Report to Congress.  TAC visits are one of her focuses for 2008.

Status Review on Revision of Draft Proposal 3944, Class Action Proceeds Instructions 
Sonny Kasturi reported that the subcommittee has not done any work on this proposal and will work on it this month.

Sonny requested that Inez re-send the latest revision out to all the area committee members so that the committee can take a look at it and send their comments back to him. Sonny expects to finalize it after incorporating comments from the members and have it ready for the Sept meeting.

Consensus on Revision of Issue 4011 Form 8863 Education Credits
Elizabeth stated that the revision is out there for pre-read and she is just waiting on feedback.  The consensus is that issue 4011 be elevated back to the Joint Committee.

Subcommittee Reports on Active Issues:
Issue 3997- Terminate “S” Election
The subcommittee should have something out by the next meeting.

Issue 4182- Form 1099-R Enhancements for seniors
Paul Brubaker has done research and found that Area 3 worked issue 3869 that addressed the fact that the Federal Government 1099-R Annuity Form uses a different format and numbering system than all other 1099-R forms.  They forwarded to the program owner for the Form 1099R (Gilford Queen) - with the question the sub-committee wanted answered (why is OPM not required to follow the regular 1099 format?)

6/7/06 - received the following information from the program owner:
Filers are not required to use the official IRS information return to file with the Service nor to furnish a copy to the recipient. There are specifications for substitutes for both purposes. These specifications are set forth in Pub. 1179, General Rules and Specifications for Substitute Forms 1096, 1098, 1099, 5498, W-2 G, and 1042-S. This publication is updated annually.  He asked Nancy Ferree to check to see who is the current contact regarding Pub 1179.

Nancy stated that if Paul’s subcommittee would put something on paper and she will pass through Bob Erickson to ensure that they are going in the right direction.

Paul Brubaker will send email to see which committee members are interested in working this issue.  He will then setup a conference call to work the issue.

Review for Proper Closing Status on Responses Received from the IRS:
TAP 206-017 Self Employed & Free Tax Prep:
The committee agrees to accept closed partially accepted.

TAP 206-028 Form 1099 Free Electronic Filing:
The committee agrees to accept closed partially accepted.

Outreach Events and Commitment Reports
Kimberly Brown reported 24 outreach activities this month came up 7 from last month.

Ben Chapman suggested that an outreach report can be with repeat persons if you spoke with after your initial contact.

Nancy stated that new success stories will be updated every six months per the Communications Committee.

Public Input
No public input.

Closing Assessments- Q & A Meeting Survey
Lyn expressed how important it is to review the draft minutes and provide feedback.

Nancy asked committee members to think about taking leadership roles if they are not rotating off this year.

Chair adjourned the meeting.  

Next Teleconference Meeting: September 19, 2007 at 2:30 PM ET

*Certification of Meeting Minutes:  These minutes were approved by the TAP Area 2 Committee by consensus on September 19, 2007.