Area 7 Committee Meeting Minutes

Area 7 Committee Meeting
September 28, 2005

Designated Federal Official

• Laurie Keleman, Local Taxpayer Advocate, Los Angeles, CA

Committee Members Present

• Clayton Agena, HI
• Margaret Balcom, CA
• Larry Combs, CA
• Allena Kaplan, CA (Vice-Chair)
• Tom Karwin, CA (Chair)
• Howard Perkins, CA
• Iris Sosa, CA
• Sherry Whah, AK
• Doug Wilhelm, CA
• Gil Yanuck, NV

Committee Members Absent

• None

Staff

• Judi Nicholas, Program Manager
• Dave Coffman, Analyst
• Jeff Stern, Analyst
• Marla Ofilas, Note Taker

Other Attendees

• Margaret Ferguson, CA
• Wayne Tanna, HI
• Wayne Whitehead, CA

Welcome
Laurie opened the meeting and Tom welcomed the members and guests.

Review Agenda
Allena reviewed the agenda.

Roll Call
Marla performed the roll call and a quorum was met.

The guests introduced themselves to the members.

Joint Committee Report Out
Tom reported on the last Joint Committee teleconference. Topics included the following:

1. Town Hall Meeting – The town hall meeting is proceeding as planned. The first session will be December 7, 2005, in Philadelphia, PA
   
2. Wage and Investment – Mark Pursley has asked the TAP to provide input on the 5-year Taxpayer Service Strategic Plan for the Wage & Investment operating division.
   
3. TAP Handbook – Members will receive a revised TAP handbook at the annual meeting. Tom complimented the Communications Committee on efforts in revising the handbook.
   
4. TAPSpeak – Members are encouraged to use TAPSpeak, an on-line collection of TAP-related documents. Staff is regularly updating the information found on TAPSpeak, keeping it a reliable source of reference.
   
5. Area and Issue Committee Chair Reports – The area and issue committee chairs rehearsed their chair report presentations with the Joint Committee. The committee provided feedback on the presentations. Each presentation will be three minutes in length and should be less repetitive as the chair reports presented in prior years.
   
6. Issue Recommendation – The Joint Committee reviewed numerous recommendations that were ready for elevation. The committee reviewed the Area 7 recommendation, #3268 IRS Refund Website, and approved it for elevation to the IRS.
   
7. Self-Assessment – The Area 7 self-assessment is due October 7, 2005.

Gil asked for clarification regarding the American Association of Retired Persons’ (AARP) decision not to post TAP posters at their Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) sites. Judi clarified this. TAP member Lynwood Sinnamon participates at an AARP site that has been resistant to displaying TAP posters. Judi reminded everyone that the host of the VITA site makes the decision to post items, not the IRS.

Report on Active Issues

• #3268 – IRS Refund Web Site – Larry Combs
  Larry provided the guests some background on this issue. During the Joint Committee meeting, Program Manager Sandy McQuin mentioned that the IRS received a similar recommendation in 1998. The IRS returned the recommendation, citing a conflict with Internal Revenue Code section 6103. Larry indicated that the subcommittee is working on developing a new recommendation to work around the code and privacy issue. Judi clarified that the Joint Committee approved the recommendation but has asked Area 7 to enhance their argument based on the new information from Sandy McQuin.

  Action: The subcommittee given the task of constructing this issue will take into account the new information from Sandy McQuin.

  Larry added that he and the TAP chair, Gwen Handelman, had a teleconference with Nina Olson, National Taxpayer Advocate. Larry indicated that Ms. Olson was very complimentary about the committee’s recommendations that are being elevated, the clarity of those recommendations, and the support provided for the recommendations.

• #3483 – Electronic Tax Law Assistance (ETLA)
  Tom provided background. Tom reported that the subcommittee wants to recommend the IRS continue with ETLA service until it has a suitable replacement. The subcommittee understands that there are budget constraints that would make the recommendation difficult to carry out.

  Tom recommended that the committee place this issue in the parking lot until the IRS initiatives for the automation of taxpayer services are studied.

  Gil suggested that members read Nina Olson’s September 23, 2005 presentation to Congress that includes her opposition to the removal of ETLA. Judi asked the committee to consider if they should place the issue in the parking lot or if, in light of Ms. Olson’s presentation, the committee should work the issue due to the considerable emphasis that Ms. Olson has placed on it.

  Decision: The subcommittee will continue to work this issue. They will employ a tiered approach, using timeframes for each part of the recommendation.

• #3363 and #3492 – Mail Procedures at TAC Offices and the TAC Office Budget
  Sherry reviewed the issues and reminded the members that the committee decided to separate the two issues. Judi informed the committee that for every Taxpayer Assistance Center (TAC), there should be a duty officer assigned for the day. In the event that a taxpayer visits the TAC and needs to speak with a non-TAC employee (such as a revenue officer), a duty officer is available to listen and take correspondence from that taxpayer on behalf of the non-TAC employee. Judi suggested the committee recommend that there be a duty officer at every TAC office.

  Decision: The subcommittee will continue to work the recommendation and present it to the committee during the next meeting.

Comments on E-File Brochure – Update
Doug gave an update on his recent opportunity to provide input on an e-file brochure.

Self-Assessment Report
The committee provided input and comments to the final draft of Area 7’s self-assessment. Members will e-mail Tom any additional input they may have for the assessment.

Annual Meeting Orientation Materials
Judi gave a brief outline of the annual meeting agenda and noted that the agenda is still going through some changes. For returning members, the general session will begin the afternoon of Wednesday November 2nd. It will include guest speakers and chair reports. Thursday November 3rd will be much of the same; however, issue committees will meet and workshops on TAP topics will be available. Candidates for the TAP Chair and Vice Chair will also have an opportunity to speak to the panel. Members that would like to have dinner with their issue committees will have an opportunity to do so on Thursday evening. On Friday November 4th, there will be a continuation of workshops and issue committee meetings. In the afternoon, members will attend area meetings and additional workshops. Area committees will have an opportunity to meet for dinner on Friday evening. Area meetings and workshops will continue into Saturday November 5th.

Two workshops will be offered, Outreach and “What it means to be a TAP member.” TAP has also added two new issue committees, Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) and Taxpayer Assistance Centers (TAC). An issue description for the new committees has yet to be developed.

Judi informed the members that their area committee meetings will include identifying roles and responsibilities, electing a new chair and vice chair, establishing committee goals, scheduling conference calls, and selecting dates for the face-to-face meeting. The meetings will also have an opportunity for members to walk through an issue and discuss various outreach opportunities.

One of the issue committees has developed a packet of materials that new members can use to acquaint them with their committee operations. Judi explained that the purpose of this packet is to allow new members to master the intricacies of working with the committee sooner rather than later. During the Joint Committee meeting, the Joint Committee decided that all committees put together a packet for this purpose. Judi shared some Area 6 suggestions for items that should be included in their packet. Area 6 suggested the following:

1. A document that explains the difference between area and issue committees. This document should include the process committees use to generate recommendations.
2. A list of issues being worked by the committee with a brief summary of each issue.
3. A document that describing the process of issue subcommittees, including the methods subcommittees use to decide which issues should be forwarded to the entire committee.
4. A document that describes and outlines the expectations of outreach.

Judi asked the Area 7 members to send suggestions to her via e-mail.

Action: Area 7 members will send Judi their suggestions for orientation materials.

Area 7 Dinner
Tom has agreed to organize the Area 7 dinner for Friday November 4th. If members have recommendations for particular restaurants, please let Tom know. He will be sending an e-mail to get a count of those attending the dinner as soon as new members are appointed.

Closing
Before the meeting closed, Gil suggested that the members log on to TAPSpeak and read the National Taxpayer Advocate’s testimony regarding small businesses. Judi noted that the report also appears on the IRS website, for the new members that are unable to log on to TAP speak.

Laurie closed the meeting.