Taxpayer Advocacy Panel
Area 7 Teleconference Minutes
September 19, 2007

Designated Federal Official (DFO)
John Tam

Margaret Ferguson
Greg Gursey
Dave Jones
Tom Karwin
Merijane (MJ) Lee
Iris Sosa
Howard Stahl
Doug Wilhelm
Gil Yanuck

Absent
Wayne Tanna
Wayne Whitehead, Chair
John Tam (DFO)

Staff
Janice Spinks, TAP Program Analyst
Marla Ofilas, TAP Secretary

Opening/Announcements
Judi Nicholas served as the DFO in John Tam’s absence.

Judi opened the meeting and roll call was taken. A quorum was met.

Joint Committee Report – Tom Karwin
Tom provided the Joint Committee report. Tom reported that IRS has responded to all 50 outstanding TAP elevated issues. Barbara Foley, TAP Analyst, will be loading the responses on the TAP Database, which will give TAP an opportunity to decide if further action is needed.

MJ highlighted TAP’s meeting with the Acting Commissioner, Kevin Brown and National Taxpayer Advocate, Nina Olson, which was held August 16, 2007.  Overall the meeting was very productive. MJ provided highlights about the year’s accomplishments and focused on the TAC Surveys. She also spoke about the Ad Hoc Committee’s work. The document prepared by Maryann Motza and Dave Coffman, (which outlined how TAP operates) was well received.  MJ indicated they are looking at potentially holding a mid-year meeting with the current Acting Commissioner, Linda Stiff.

Judi reported that the Chair/Vice Chair election process was shared by Wayne and they will continue the discussion at the Joint Committee face-to-face meeting in October.  A final decision about the election process is expected to be made at that time.

Response to Issue #3959 (1040EZ)
The full committee reviewed the IRS’s response to Issue #3959. The IRS denied TAP’s recommendation to pursue implementing a Return-Free Tax System. The response was based on a report that found some taxpayers could potentially be exempted from filing requirements under the current tax system. In addition, the report found that it would be problematic to shift to a Return-Free system without first simplifying the current income tax system.

Tom recommended sending a letter to Steve Bankhead who was the originator of the issue to see if he has any insight on the matter and to advise him of TAP’s recommendation and the response received.
DECISION: After much discussion about the response and the feasibility of pursuing the matter further, the full committee agreed to drop the issue.

Sub-committee Assignments
Sub-committee assignments were made for the purpose of working issues. Area 7 has received 10 new issues which will be divided between the two sub-committees. Members were asked to meet via teleconference to discuss the issues that were received.

Each sub-committee will schedule a teleconference for October and November. Reoccurring teleconferences will be scheduled once new members are assigned to the sub-committees.
ACTION: Members were asked to send Janice available dates for October and November. Janice will consolidate member availability and schedule teleconferences for Sub-committees A and B accordingly.

August Outreach – Gil Yanuck
Gil reviewed the August Outreach Report for Area 7.  Even though outreach efforts are not going in the right direction it is understandable.  It seems to be the case that it is easier to get invited to outreach events during tax season.  However, members are encouraged to continue their pursuits for outreach opportunities.

Gil indicated new Success Stories and an updated Power Point presentation have been added to TAPSpace.  Both provide good information for members to utilize in conducting outreach events.

Margaret provided an overview of the Tax Forum held in Anaheim, which provided an excellent opportunity to publicize TAP and to gather new issues. Judi indicated TAP took a different approached to the Forums this year. In some instances marketing materials were only given to those who took the time to listen to a brief overview about TAP.  One key addition to the Forums was the Focus Groups, which were conducted by Panel Members. This proved to be a very good addition to the Forums and gave the members an additional opportunity to solicit for new issues.

While the one-on-one outreach efforts are important, M.J. felt there would be a bigger impact if TAP Members were directly involved in holding Forums on their own.  M.J indicated she is currently working on setting up such a session in her community. 

Other Business/Member Comments
Judi indicated the Annual Meeting agenda (for Area 7) should include a discussion about Outreach Events for 2008.

Dave Jones made a suggestion that a draft News Release be prepared for new members to use prior to attending the Annual Meeting. The purpose of the News Release would be to publicize Panel Member attendance at the Annual Meeting as well as their appointment to TAP.
ACTION: The Press Release suggestion will be forwarded to the Communications Committee for further consideration. 

There were no member comments. Judi closed the meeting.