Designated Federal Official
Teresa Thompson

Members Present
Milissa Bensen, Vice-Chair
Eileen Birge
Marilynn Clapp
Dean Conder
Laura Criel
Steve Maisch
Joe Shields, Chair
Ed Uhrig
Harris Widmer

Members Absent
George Bates
Neil Mitchell

Staff
Dave Coffman, TAP Analyst
Marla Ofilas, TAP Secretary

Opening
Teresa opened the meeting and Joe welcomed the members and staff.  Roll call was taken and a quorum was met.

Meeting Minutes Approval
The committee reviewed the minutes from the May 1-3, 2008 meeting.
DECISION: The committee approved the meeting minutes from May 1-3, 2008.

Outreach Review
Milissa reported that there was an increase in outreach during June. Joe congratulated the committee on their outreach efforts and remarked that Area 6 is doing an outstanding job.

Dave asked the members to start sending their monthly outreach reports to Nina. Nina will start inputting the information into the database.
ACTION: All members will send their monthly outreach reports to Nina.

Taxpayer Burden Subcommittee Report

• #4406 (Audits – Scheduling the Appointment)

Eileen reported that the Joint Committee approved and will elevate issue #4406.  The recommendation ensures that the taxpayer have an appropriate amount of time to prepare for a Schedule C audit.

• #4307 (Installment Agreements – Appeal Rights)

Eileen stated that the subcommittee is in the process of researching the issue.  A practitioner has been having a tremendous amount of trouble appealing defaulted installment agreements. A defaulted installment agreement may be appealed within 30 days of the default letter. The letter instructs the taxpayer to call a particular IRS toll-free number.  When the practitioner calls the number, the IRS representative does not know how to initiate an appeal. Most of the time, the practitioner has to explain the appeal process to the representative. 

The subcommittee will continue to work this issue.  They hope to share additional information at the next teleconference.

IRS Services Subcommittee Report

• #4202 (EFTPS Time Zone Problems)

Steve reported that the subcommittee is working on finalizing their draft recommendation, which will be ready for the full committee to review at the August Area 6 meeting. 

Miscellaneous Subcommittee Report

• #4358 (Form 3949-A, Information Referral – Tax Return Preparers Reporting Fraud)

Laura explained that the subcommittee’s elevated issue was declined by the Joint Committee. The objection was due to the burdens that would be placed on the practitioners and the software developers. The subcommittee will discuss the disposition of the referral in their upcoming meeting. Members voiced their frustrations and disappointment with the Joint Committee’s decision. 

• #4395 (Form 2848 – Interpretation) and #4356 (Powers of Attorney – Ignored by IRS)

The subcommittee stated what appears to be the main part of the problem, designating a power of attorney on Part II (a-h) of Form 2848.  Dean noted that a social worker, acting as the guardian for a taxpayer, does not have a spot of Form 2848 to show a fiduciary relationship.  Another question that was raised during the subcommittee meeting involves Form 56 being carried over to the Centralized Authorization File (CAF).  

The subcommittee will continue to explore these issues. 

Joint Committee Business
Joe reported that the Joint Committee had a recent face-to-face meeting in St. Louis. During the meeting the Joint Committee members reviewed all the elevated issues, of which nearly half were from Area 6. Laura and Eileen were able to join part of the meeting (via conference call) and answer questions on issues elevated by Area 6.   

Joe also reported on the Joint Committee’s recommendation to treat each committee breakout session, at the annual face-to-face meeting, as a regular face-to-face meeting. 

Member Comments
Joe asked each member to provide a brief summary of their issue committee’s recent activities.  Members provided a brief overview of their issue committee’s recent activities and accomplishments. 

Closing
Joe thanked the participants for their input and Teresa closed the meeting.