Designated Federal Official
Betty Martin, Designated Federal Official

Committee Members Present
Larry Behnkendorf, Michigan
Robert Broniarczyk, Illinois
Patricia Bryant, Tennessee
Paul Duquette, Wisconsin
Joe Hurr, Ohio
Jeff Kennedy, Kentucky
Mary Ann Lawler, Michigan
David Meister, Wisconsin
Jerry Melchior, Indiana
Lovella Richardson, Tennessee
Ferd Schneider, Chair, Ohio
Stanley Wernz, Ohio

Committee Members Absent
Maureen Amos, Illinois
Anne Khan, Illinois
Marie O’Donnell, Illinois

TAP Staff
Sandy McQuin, TAP Program Manager
Mary Ann Delzer, TAP Program Analyst
Donna Powers, Program Analyst
Marla Ofilas, Secretary

Visitors
None

Welcome/Roll Call/Review Agenda
Schneider welcomed everyone. Roll call was taken and a quorum was met.

McQuin introduced Donna Powers, a secretary from TAS, who will be on detail in the Milwaukee, WI office effective October 29, 2007.  

Area 4 Chair Report

• Joint Committee Report

Schneider attended the Joint Committee meeting in Chicago which was from October 10 to October 13. He reported on the following issues:

• Election of TAP Chair and Vice Chair: TAP members will elect a TAP Chair and Vice Chair prior to the annual meeting via email. There will be a minimum of 2 candidates per opening. A nomination committee has been established if there are not enough candidates from self nominations. Candidates will have until November 5 to submit their bio/campaign information for posting on TAPSpace.  Elections will be held from November 5 to November 16 with the new chair and vice chair being announced on December 5 at the latest.
• Annual Meeting: TAP Annual Meeting will be held in Washington D.C. from December 10 to December 14, 2007. New members will report on December 10 for new member orientation. Returning members will travel on December 10 but will report on December 11 for the annual meeting.
• TAP Member Mentors: New members will be offered mentors.  Joint Committee agreed that third year members which will be retiring can also volunteer to mentor, but returning members are preferred.
• Teleconference Etiquette: All members are reminded to be prepared prior to all teleconference calls by reading all pre-read materials posted on TAPSpace. In addition, members are asked to promptly arrive at scheduled face-to-face meetings and plan to attend face-to-face meetings in its entirety.
• Staff Opinion: TAP staff was given the opportunity to provide input. One concern shared by TAP staff is that members still want to combine personal travel with business travel. It is important for members to understand that TAP secretaries will only make travel arrangements from members’ residences to meetings and then returning to their residences.

Schneider concluded that each chair was asked to provide a status update on their committee. He reported on member attendance, the IRS Tax Forum in Chicago, and issues being worked on by Area 4 members.

IRS Responses
The full committee reviewed IRS responses to their elevated recommendations.

• 407-4037 Private Delivery Service

Area 4 recommended that the instructions for private delivery service be listed on the back cover of the 1040 instruction. The full committee felt the instructions were buried on page 15 and should be listed were the mailing address are listed.

IRS responded to the recommendation that there was not enough room for the information; however, there is space to explain where to find the information.
DECISION: The full committee agreed to accept the IRS response and close the issue.

• RAL (Refund Anticipation Loans) – Related Issues

Area 4 worked on 5 issues related to the refund anticipation loans which were elevated to IRS. The full committee reviewed each response received from IRS.

• Issue #05--038

The subcommittee believes that IRS response is acceptable and recommends to the full committee that the issue be closed.
DECISION: The full committee agreed to accept the response and close the issue, proposal rejected.

• Issue #05-039

After receiving additional information related to the IRS response, the subcommittee recommends that the issue be accepted and closed.
DECISION: The full committee agreed to accept the response and close the issue, proposal partially accepted.

• Issue #05-040

The subcommittee felt that their elevated recommendation was avoided by the IRS. The subcommittee recommended that additional research be completed and to meet with the program owner for further discussion.
ACTION: McQuin will share with Bernie Coston that Area 4 wishes to meet with the program owners.

• Issue #05-041

The response from the IRS was non-committal. The subcommittee recommends that a response, requesting what was done by the IRS in the last 12 months or what their enforcement statistics are, be drafted. 
ACTION: McQuin will share with Bernie Coston that Area 4 wishes to meet with the program owners.

• Issue #05-042

The subcommittee recommended to the close the issue.
DECISION: The full committee agreed with the IRS response and closed the issue, proposal partially accepted.
ACTION: Delzer will make appropriate changes to the TAP Issue Tracking Database for all of the above issues.

Public Input
None

Issue Discussion

• Notices of Deficiency

The members reviewed a draft referral completed by Bryant. Schneider asked the full committee if they agree that the referral be elevated to the Joint Committee. Delzer explained that the recommendation should refer to “all notices of deficiency” since multiple notices are used.
DECISION: The full committee agreed to elevate the recommendation to the Joint Committee.
ACTION: Delzer and Bryant will make appropriate changes to language and format.

• Allow Suspension of Return Processing

Delzer explained that identity theft will be one of the most serious problems mentioned in Nina Olson’s Report to Congress. The TAS Analyst working on this issue has agreed to brief Area 4 members but not until the NTA is briefed.  Delzer explained that the committee may not have to pursue the issue if an identical recommendation is supported in the Report to Congress.

• Direct Deposit Refund and IRA Contribution

Delzer reported that this issue was considered as one of the most serious problems; however it was decided that it was not. Delzer suggested that a subcommittee be created to work on the issue.
DECISION: Wernz and Bryant agreed to work the issue.

• Failure of Audit Reconsideration Processing
• Recognition of Private Letter Rulings

Delzer indicated that there is no additional information to report.

New Issues
The committee will discuss during the November teleconference.
ACTION: Kennedy has agreed to work with Khan to prioritize the new issues so initial research can be completed prior to the annual meeting in Washington, D.C.

Action Item Review
All prior action items were completed.

Outreach
Bryant reported that she attended an outreach event presented by TAS and was pleasantly surprised to see Kayla Walker in attendance.

Issue Committee Highlights
Schneider reported that some issue committees are busy and some are not getting work from their program owners. He observed the Communication and TAC Issue Committees are doing very well. Communication committee has worked on several surveys which will benefit the TAP members during the annual meeting. The TAC committee has also worked on administering surveys to TAC employees and customers to recommend suggestions on improvements.

Schneider explained that members may have the option to switch issue committees based on space availability. At this time, Coston is working on identifying new issues committees and program owners.

Office Report
McQuin reported that she will be soliciting member input for the New Member Orientation. A teleconference will be set up to brainstorm and to provide input on what worked and what didn’t work in the past.

All first year members will receive new business cards since the Milwaukee address has changed.  Any second year members should contact Delzer if they need more business cards.