Area 3 Committee Meeting Minutes

November 21, 2003

Members in Attendance:

• Phil Bryant
• Charlotte Cassady
• Helen Curol
• Gwen Handelman
• Edward Hanna
• Sharon Lassar
• Owen Oatley
• Buck Paolone
• George Sullivan
• Agnes Tillerson
• Steven Wood
• Carolyn Lewis – DFO

Staff:

• Sallie Chavez – TAP Program Analyst
• Nancy Ferree – TAP Program Manager

Guests:

• Steve Bayder, Program Supervisor, Office of Notice Gatekeeper
• Karen Kiekenapp, Program Analyst, Office of Notice Gatekeeper

Welcome
Committee Chair George Sullivan welcomed everyone.

Roll call
Roll was taken. Quorum was met.

Introduction of Guests
Guests introduced themselves. Steve Bayder is a Program Manager in DC in the Office of Notice Gatekeeper and works for Betsy Kinter. He would like to solicit support for the TAP in looking at the Frequently Asked Questions from IRS.gov website. It has been found to not be user friendly to taxpayers. His office is doing an analysis but would like TAP's point of view. He would like to join the committee at their face-to-face meeting to get their help.

Karen Kiekenapp introduced herself. She is the Program Analyst in the Office of Notice Gatekeeper and works for Steve Bayder. She gave a brief overview of their office. The Office of Notice Gatekeeper is responsible for the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) on the IRS website as well as the tax topics on the Teletax phone line.

She stated they have several questions they need to have answered such as:

• What drives taxpayers to contact the IRS?
• What are the differences between the types of contact?
• Is the information provided sufficient?
• What are the likes/dislikes of the information?
• What constitutes a complete tax law answer?

Committee Member Buck Paolone asked how many taxpayers use the website. Karen Kiekenapp stated that 75% of taxpayer use the phone or correspondence and 25% use the Internet. However this data is about two years old and may not be accurate. Steve Bayder added that the use of the web is growing but he doesn't have current data. Committee Member Helen Curol said she feels the majority of taxpayers do not use the web. Steve Bayder answered that the web was another service for those who do use it. It's more convenient than making a call. Karen Kiekenapp said that most of the taxpayers who use the Internet are business professionals who are familiar with taxes.

Committee Member Buck Paolone asked what mode is given to taxpayer. Karen Kiekenapp answer that it was via tax trails. There is email but it is not easily accessed. There is no immediate access. Committee Member Gwen Handelman asked if taxpayers could contact the IRS? Karen Kiekenapp stated that a taxpayer could send comments or technical questions via email. The FAQs were made up of these questions.

Committee Member Sharon Lassar stated that the search engines are bad and need to be changed. Karen Kiekenapp agreed that the search engines don't work very well. Committee Member Sharon Lassar asked where are the FAQ on the website? Karen Kiekenapp explained where they are.

Committee Chair George Sullivan stated if the committee takes this up it will be assigned to a subcommittee. Steve Bayder stated that they want to get a feel for the next filing season. This information is for the “long haul”. It is very early in the planning right now.

Committee Chair George Sullivan requested that the questions and the plan be emailed to the committee. At that point a subcommittee can be set up and then Steve Bayder and Karen Kiekenapp can come to the face-to-face meeting in April. Steve Bayder agreed and would also like to attend interim meetings.

Committee Member Owen Oatley asked if they were the individuals we talk to about adding things to the website. Steve Bayder said they were. Committee Member Owen Oatley said that he had heard the information on the advance refund for childcare was no longer on the web site. Karen Kiekenapp stated that is at the end of the process. The site is gearing up for the new filing season. The information is there but down a couple of links.

Committee Member Buck Paolone asked if the telephone number could be put on the bottom of forms? Steve Bayder said it would be a wonderful idea but the IRS does not have the resources, the people, to answer the phones. This is outside of his expertise. He would like to stick to the Internet.

Committee Member Gwen Handelman explained how Area TAP offices work. They get information from taxpayers. IRS does not usually come to TAP for information except through the issue committees.

Steve Bayder said he will have his request put in writing and then the Area can see if they want to assist.

TAP Program Manager Nancy Ferree asked if this was the only outside group being asked these questions. Steve Bayder said he doesn't know yet. He just wants some outside vision.

Committee Member Gwen Handelman stated that maybe Committee Chair George Sullivan should take this to the Joint Committee. Committee Chair George Sullivan said he would like to see the proposal first.

Committee Member Sharon Lassar said that she appreciated them coming and asking for the committee's support. TAP Program Manager Nancy Ferree said after the proposal is put in writing, it will get to the right place.

Review of October 4, 2003 Minutes
The minutes were accepted by consensus, after one correction is made.

Report on Staff Support
Committee Chair George Sullivan thanked everyone for responding and he will be sending all the responses to TAP Program Manager Nancy Ferree next week.

Review of Calendar
Committee Chair George Sullivan stated that because of budget, there would only be one (1) face-to-face meeting for the Area. Also the meeting in January is scheduled for January 16, which is the Friday before the Martin Luther King holiday. Is that a problem for anyone? It was not so the date stays.

Since the committee can only have one face-to-face meeting is April 23 & 24 still a good time? Committee Member Gwen Handelman stated that she would not be able to make it to that meeting if it was on those dates. Committee Member Owen Oatley stated he would prefer it to be later in May. There was much discussion about the date and it was decided to hold the face-to-face meeting on June 11 – 12, 2004 in New Orleans. If New Orleans is not available committee requested TAP Program Analyst Sallie Chavez to pursue Nashville or Memphis.

Area 3 TAP Issues
Committee Chair George Sullivan stated that Committee Member Sharon Lassar's issue on the electronic deposits on Form 1040X was forwarded to the Joint Committee and was accepted.

Refund Check Envelope
Committee Member Owen Oatley requested the approval of the committee on his issue concerning the back of refund envelopes. He would like to suggest that the printing be eliminated. He feels it flags the envelope as a refund. No need to put this on the envelope, as it doesn't serve a purpose. He suggests the back be left blank. There was consensus on this issue.

Abatement on late filing penalty
Committee Member Owen Oatley stated that a practitioner requested an abatement of a late filing penalty and was told he needed to file a Form 843 to request the penalty abatement. He would like to know if this is a change in procedure. He does not think that it was being done in Florida. TAP Program Analyst Sallie Chavez will check on this. Committee Chair George Sullivan asked for this to be put on the agenda for the December meeting.

Telephone Listing/Answering Quality
Committee Chair George Sullivan stated that one of the telephone issues has been forwarded to the Joint Committee and accepted. He congratulated Committee Member Buck Paolone and former Committee Member Tim Jarrell for their efforts toward this issue. The subcommittee had a conference call with an IRS individual who has charge of putting Taxpayer Assistance Office telephone numbers in the telephone directories. This will be discussed at the December meeting.

Outsourcing
Committee Chair George Sullivan stated that this issue is in the parking lot. It was discussed during the Joint Committee meeting.

Committee Member Agnes Tillerson said that she had been reading that information was being sent out asking for personal information as thought it was from the IRS.

Committee Member Gwen Handelman stated that the Ad Hoc Issue Committee was working on protecting taxpayer privacy. Committee Member Agnes Tillerson stated she was interested in this and would like to be connected with the Ad Hoc Committee. TAP Program Analyst Sallie Chavez will get her information from the Ad Hoc Committee.

The outsourcing of collecting taxes will be dropped, as Congress has rejected the outsourcing of collecting taxes.

OIC
This is still in the parking lot.

Checkbox
This issue has been sent to District Counsel. Still no answer.

Identifying and Processing of Questionable W-4s
Nothing new.

Walk-in Office Review
Committee Member Ed Hanna will get something out to everyone so they can set up the reviews.

Schedule K1
This issue is being revisited. It needs to be rewritten. Committee Member Owen Oatley will write up.

Change Date on Quarterly Estimated Tax Payments
Committee Member Ed Hanna states that these payments are in the code and can't be changed. This issue will be dropped. TAP Program Analyst will send a letter to the taxpayer who suggested this idea.

Health Insurance Benefits
Committee Member Gwen Handelman stated that she found a survey that stated 57% of employers don't know health insurance benefits are deductible. She will put something together and have a proposal ready for the December or January meeting.

Military Information
Still in the parking lot.

Refund Check Envelope
This was elevated.

Materiality
No report.

New Issues/Referrals from Taxpayers
Committee Chair George Sullivan stated that since it was late, these issues will be discussed at the December meeting with any other new issues received.

Citizen Input
There were no citizens on the call.

Meeting Close
Committee Chair George Sullivan thanked everyone for his or her time.

The next meeting is schedule for the December 19, 2003 at 11:00am EDT.

Meeting was adjourned.