Area 4 Committee Meeting Minutes
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Teleconference – 1 p.m. Central Time

Designated Federal Official

• Martin, Betty - Nashville, TN - LTA

Committee Members Present

• Adams-Dodds, Carolyn - Detroit, MI - Member
• Blanchard, Greg - Cordova, TN - Member
• Bryant, Patricia - Millington, TN - Member
• Buschmann, Ray - Lake Forest, IL - Member
• Hurr, Joe - Dayton, OH - Member
• Kennedy, Jeff - Louisville, KY - Vice Chair
• Khan, Anne - Chicago, IL - Member
• Martyniuk, Lev - Cincinnati, OH - Member
• Meister, David - Franklin, WI - Member
• Melchior, Jerome - Vincennes, IN - Member
• Monnier, David - Indianapolis, IN - Member
• Spiotto, Ann - Lincolnwood, IL - Member
• Taylor, Rita - Cincinnati, OH - Member
• Wernz, Stanley - Cincinnati, OH - Chair
• Wingard, Kelly - Decatur, IL - Member

Committee Members Absent

• Mull, Bob - Ann Arbor, MI - Member
• Verwiel, John - Cottage Grove, WI - Member
• White, Regina - Southfield, MI - Member

TAP Staff

• Patti Robb - Milwaukee, WI - Program Analyst     
• Lisa Gabriel - Milwaukee, WI - Secretary      
• Susan Gilbert - Atlanta, GA - Acting Manager       

Welcome / Roll Call / Review Agenda
Stan Wernz welcomed everyone to the meeting.  Quorum.

Meet the new Secretary:  Lisa Gabriel
Lisa has hit the ground running and we are very pleased to have her. 

Area 4 Chair Report – Stan Wernz

• Joint Committee Report

The Joint Committee call was primarily dealing with the upcoming face-to-face meeting in St Louis, MO, on June 19-21, 2008.  The JC is looking at ways to get increased participation on the committee calls.  Area 4 has been great in this area. Wernz said he was pleased to see a large number of members on this call. 

IRS Reply – Issue 4484, Business CP 163 - Kennedy
Kennedy basically recommended a redesign of the notice.  The IRS agreed with our suggestions and was already in process of redesigning the form so there is no need for follow-up. We are pretty much getting what we are asking for. 
Consensus:  Agreed and closed with IRS agreement.

Public Input
None

Issue Discussion

• Collection Financial Statements - Meister

Issues for 4760 and 4761.  Collection notices for liens and installment plans.  Tele-conference call meeting was held June 3, 2008; on the call was Monnier and Meister. Comments were forwarded to MaryAnn Delzer requesting more information.  She will continue researching.  There is no target date at this time, once more information is received from MaryAnn there will be an update on this.  Mary Ann has a contact in Texas she wants to have on the next conference call, it is a person who works in collections and would be a good resource.  It is in the works right now.  Robb will make the contact.

• ID Theft – #4210 - Suspension of Return Processing – Blanchard

The subcommittee had a conference call on June 11 and it was very productive.  We reviewed the National Taxpayer Advocate’s Report to Congress.  Specifically #6, Identity Theft Procedures.  We went through Publication 4535 (revised in March 2008), which discusses identity theft.  It gives general information but no specifics.  The subcommittee asked Delzer to find a Subject Matter Expert within the IRS to join them on future calls to discuss.  Kelly Wingard asked to be added to this subcommittee.  Wingard added that issue #4633 is the number of the issue area 1 is working on which also deals with this issue. 

• Mandatory Filing Form 944 – #4771 – Bryant

This issue deals with Form 941, Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Return, and Form 944, Employer’s ANNUAL Federal Tax Return.  The subcommittee met on June 9, 2008.  The Form 941 is for an employer to use to report their withholding.  The 944 is for smaller employers to use on an annual basis.  We decided that these forms are usable and good but the Form SS4, Application for Employer I.D. Number, could use some change.  Another meeting is scheduled for June 24.  The committee discussed having employers take a test to see if they understand when they need to file but do not think it is actually a viable option.    

• Form 1041, Schedule G – # 4707 – Kennedy

This subcommittee will not meet until after this call.  We are still in the research phase at this moment.  Will set up a call before the next conference call.

• Capital Gains Processing Errors – #4340 – Kennedy

Delzer sent some general research listing the top errors through the end of February.
The subcommittee with get together to work on this issue.  Based on research by Delzer, Wernz said he thought it was a problem with paper returns and it did not even show up on Efile returns.  Taylor said she had problems with software when trying to do an override. 

• Notices and Refund Checks – # 4770 – Taylor

This issue was where taxpayers were receiving refunds and then notices were sent separately.  Taylor submitted a report and is waiting for comments before going any further on this issue. 

• PTIN Processing – # 4765 – Bryant

We received a complaint that a big problem exists when a preparer attempts to get a tax identification number (PTIN).  Recommended to close this issue – it appears to be an individual problem. 
Consensus to close.

New Issue Review – Anne Khan
The new issue review subcommittee meets every second Tuesday of the month.  We plan to look at parking lot issues on a quarterly basis. 
# 4784 – 1099 C, Forgiveness of Debt, Work - medium priority
# 4802 – Third Party Return Preparation – Not in TAP scope - Drop
# 4803 – VITA/TCE – Third Party Return Preparation – Drop
# 4833 – Return Processing – Drop
Consensus to accept new issue review subcommittee recommendation.

ACTION Item Review - Gilbert
Keep:

• Each subcommittee chairperson is requested to report subcommittee meetings to the analyst and Area 4 Chair.
• Issue # 4760 & # 4761 will go to Robb to work.
• Issue # 4707 - Need more research on Schedule G.
• Issue # 4770 – Please send your comments to Rita Taylor.
• Issue # 4765 - close
• Delzer will identify SME on Identity theft.

Outreach

Issue Committee Highlights – All
Anne Khan said the Communications Committee met a couple weeks ago.  An Area 4 member asked about the PowerPoint from the outreach toolkit.  The external communication subcommittee has received requests, but to avoid confusion, it was decide that it was better to keep only one general copy of the PowerPoint presentation.  It can be changed as needed by individuals. 
Kelly Wingard encouraged everyone to get their bios up-to-date on TAPSpace. 

Office Report – Gilbert
Milwaukee is still interviewing for new panel members.  We have the Joint Committee face-to-face meeting this week.  We will get back to the interviews next week.  We are right on target as far as the recruitment. 

Closing/Assessment
A meeting satisfaction survey will be sent to you for completion.  Please return to Jeff Kennedy.  Meeting Adjourned