Area 7 Committee Meeting Minutes

Taxpayer Advocacy Panel
Teleconference
May 24, 2006

Designated Federal Official (DFO)

• John Tam, Local Taxpayer Advocate, Oakland, CA

Attendance

• Larry Combs, CA
• Dave Jones, CA
• Allena Kaplan, CA (Chair)
• Tom Karwin, CA (Vice-Chair)
• Mavis Smith, CA
• Iris Sosa, CA
• Wayne Tanna, HI
• Wayne Whitehead, CA
• Doug Wilhelm, CA
• Gil Yanuck, NV

Committee Members Absent

• Margaret Ferguson, CA
• Greg Gursey, AK

Staff

• Dave Coffman, Analyst
• Cathy Johnson, Analyst/Note taker

Opening
John opened the meeting.

Welcome/Announcements
No announcements

Review Agenda
Tom verified that everyone received the agenda and asked everyone to try to stay within the time constraints.

Roll Call
Dave took roll call and a quorum was present.

Joint Committee Report
Allena noted that the Joint Committee report was sent to all members via e-mail. The report emphasized the meeting that Larry had with the commissioner.

Allena informed the committee that Margaret will provide input, as a tax preparer, to the committee chairs that are working on the five issues assigned to TAP by the commissioner. Allena provided Margaret e-mail addresses for each of the chairs. If any other committee member wants to provide input on the five issues, please let Allena know and she will provide e-mail addresses for the chairs working the issues. Comments are welcome from all TAP members. Dave J. has some input on VITA issues.

Action: Allena will provide Dave J. the e-mail address for the committee chair working the VITA issue.

Issue Report Out

#3552 (Form SS-4 Electronic Application) -- Iris Sosa:
Iris briefly explained the issue. The online application for an employer identification number (EIN) will not accept certain inputs. The error messages do not inform the user which input error is causing the problem. Iris is having some problems with the barriers/benefits part of the Joint Committee referral. Allena offered to help identify the barriers. Discussion continued with possible suggestions, such as instructing the user (directly on the application) that special characters may not be used.

Action: Allena will work with Iris on the barriers section of the Joint Committee referral.

Subcommittee Workload Review -- Dave Coffman:
Dave C. updated the committee on the active issues currently assigned to Area 7. Most were discussed at the last face-to-face meeting and much research is still needed on these issues:

• #3579 (Form 990 EZ) – Dave C. is still researching this issue.

• #3687 (Toll-Free and TAC Help for the Self-Employed) -- Dave C. is still researching this issue.

• #3379 (Estimated Tax Instructions) – Dave noted that some research has been completed. He has found some information about a letter (CP13) and rounding on Form 1040ES.

• #3731 (Form 1099 – Fillable PDF Format) -- Some research has been completed, but Dave C. is trying to find out more information on the Form 1099 format.

• #3773 (Education – Tax Law Education in Schools) – This issue needs basic research.

• #3775 (Toll-Free Number – Making Other Toll-Free Numbers Available) – Some information has been found about the tab on the irs.gov web site, but Dave is trying to get more information on Publication 4255. Dave J. noted that his local taxpayer assistance center provided him a sheet of IRS numbers. Dave J., convinced that this is not really an issue, will write up his thoughts on this subject and share them with the committee. Doug noted that if too many numbers are offered, taxpayers will stop calling the 1-800-829-1040 number.

  Action: Dave Jones will e-mail his thoughts on issue # 3775 to all Area 7 members.

• #3363 (TAC – Mail Procedures) – Dave C. noted that the research reports were sent to Tom.

  Action: Tom will write up a recommendation (Joint Committee Referral) for issue # 3363.

• #3552 (SS4 Electronic Application) – This was previously discussed. Iris is working on a Joint Committee referral.

• #3633 (TAC Services – Transcripts) – Currently assigned to Margaret, Dave C. does not have an update on this issue.

• # 3483 (ETLA Website) – Dave C. noted that his is trying to locate some sort of “master plan” for IRS electronic services.

• # 3567 (Pub. 8160E) – Dave C. informed the committee that this problem is currently being addressed by IRS. He stated that it might be best if this issue is placed in the parking lot for 90 days, monitoring the issue to determine if the problem will be resolved by IRS. Dave C. will address this at the next Area 7 Issue Subcommittee meeting.

Allena asked about the Incentive Subcommittee’s progress. Dave C. stated that the subcommittee consists of Doug, Tom, Dave J., Gil and Mavis. Tom noted that the issue was identified and some research was needed by staff – particularly whether or not the IRS could provide incentives to the public for their suggestions. If the IRS could not provide such incentives, research is needed to determine if other non-governmental agencies could provide the incentives.

Tom reminded the committee that the concept is modeled after a program in California known as “There Ought to be a Law.” There is a public meeting regarding this program tomorrow in Tom’s town. Tom intends to attend the meeting to learn the mechanics of the program, number of proposals received, etc. Tom also learned at the Communication Committee meeting that one member stated that a similar issue being worked by either the IRS or the SB/SE Burden Reduction Issue Committee of TAP.

Action: Dave C. will provide Tom that member’s e-mail address.

Subcommittee Next Steps
Allena commented on the workload of each of the subcommittees.

• Subcommittee A: Currently has one active issue (#3579) in the research stage.

• Subcommittee B: Issue #3687 is still in the research stage. Issue # 3552 is being worked by Allena and Iris.

• Subcommittee C: Dave J. will submit his thoughts on issue # 3775. Dave C. is researching issue # 3483. Issue # 3363 will be referred by Tom, using the research report provided by Dave C.

• Incentive Subcommittee: Still waiting for research.

Issue Subcommittee Report: Dave Jones
Dave J. provided a brief synopsis on the subjects discussed at the last Area 7 Issue Subcommittee meeting. The Issue Subcommittee raised the following recommendations to the Area 7 Committee members:

• #3859 (Package X – Continuing to Provide Hard Copies) – The subcommittee believes that, while the Package X is available via CD for a fee, taxpayers and tax professionals may get all forms from the IRS web site for free.

  Decision: The committee decided to drop this issue.

• #3829 (Changing Reporting Requirements / Simplification of Form 1040) – Dave J. stated that changing the reporting requirement of Form 1040, or a radical change of the form (and phasing out the accompanying schedules) would be too impractical for most taxpayers. Dave C. noted the possible length of Form 1040, which would include all information currently contained in the schedules, may be far too long and confusing for most taxpayers, increasing taxpayer burden.

  Decision: The committee decided to drop this issue.

Other Business
Dave C. informed the subcommittees that if they decide to hold a teleconference, he can set up the call. Allena informed the subcommittees that a conference call can also be arranged by using their AT&T calling cards.

Concerns were raised on the amount of time spent working issues and re-prioritizing the active issues. Dave C. offered to share his research in part, recognizing that the research provided may not fully address the subcommittee’s request.

Decision: Dave C. will share research as it’s received. Subcommittees will then inform Dave when the research provided is sufficient to make a recommendation.

Closing
John closed the meeting.