Taxpayer Advocacy Panel
Area 7 Committee
Meeting Minutes
February 20, 2008

Designated Federal Official
John Tam

Attendance
Charles Davidson
Sandy Finestone
Richard Waterman
Sabby Jonathan
Greg Gursey
Dave Jones
Margaret Ferguson
MJ Lee
Wayne Tanna
Wayne Whitehead

Staff
Judi Nicholas, Program Manager
Janice Spinks, Program Analyst

Guest
Gil Yanuck

Absent
Howard Stahl
Richard Coonradt
Julia Ling

Opening/Welcome/Announcements
John opened the meeting and Charles welcomed the members. Janice took roll and a quorum was met.

John advised members to go to IRS.gov for information regarding the stimulus payment inquiries. There is a series of Q & A’s that can be used as talking points in the event this issue comes up during outreach activities.

Judi announced Marla will be back in the office Monday 2-25-08. She also announced that each of the TAP offices have been authorized to hire another analyst and it is anticipated this person will be on board within the next couple of months.

Joint Committee Report – Charles Davidson, et al
MJ provided the following information regarding the Metrics Committee:

• Data has been collected for the New Member Survey, Returning Member Survey and the Exit Survey.  There is a notable difference in the survey scales.  The committee will be proposing one scale be used on all surveys.  MJ indicated Mark Paris is working on this with in the Communication Committee.
• MJ did an analysis on outreach and found members generally are not reporting outreach on a monthly basis.
• MJ will discuss her findings at the next JC meeting and recommend that it be standard for all members to report outreach each month.

Charles provided the following information:

• Steve Berkey will oversee recruitment and will be looking for member participation.  The applications should be available on line by March 17, 2008.  The goal is to have final approval of new members between September and October.
• The Annual Meeting is tentatively scheduled for the first week of December.  The actual dates will be determined based on hotel availability.
• The Communication Committee is rolling out a new feedback form, which will be tested at the Town Hall meeting being held 2-21-08 in Birmingham, AL. Mark Paris, Communication Committee Chair will be in attendance. 
• Remaining Town Hall Meetings are scheduled for March 13, 2008 in Durham, NC and May 1, 2008 in Springfield, IL

Judi provided the following information:

• Members were reminded that the Town Hall meetings and recruitment dates are noted on the calendar on TAPSpace.
• Judi asked members to be mindful that we will be replacing Greg Gursey in Alaska, Wayne Tanna in Hawaii and that we will have 3-4 California vacancies.  Judi asked members to assist with recruitment in these particular areas.
• Interviews (via telephone) will take place starting June 9th.  Judi will solicit member participation sometime in May.  She will split the time up and will work within everyone’s schedules.
• The goal is to have all recruitment efforts completed by the end of June with final recommendations to Bernie so that he can get the information to Nina by the end of July.

Sub-Committee A – Dave Jones

Issues:

• #4416 – W2 G – The sub-committee made a recommendation to drop this issue due to it being legislative. There were no objections to the recommendation.
• #4368 – Copy of Returns Disclosure – The sub-committee made a recommendation to drop this issue.  According to the research completed, there are procedures/guidelines in place to prevent returns being sent to the wrong individual. The sub-committee agreed this was a rare occurrence. There were no objections to the recommendation.
• #4488 – Flexible Spending Accounts – Richard researched this issue and according to his findings weight loss issues are not considered a qualified medical expense.  Based on the research (and the fact that this is a legislative matter) the sub-committee made a recommendation to drop the issue.  There were no objections to the recommendation. 
• #4507 – IRS Web-site Home Page – Dave indicated he tested the web-site and had no problem navigating the system.  Based on this information, the sub-committee made a recommendation to drop the issue.  There were no objections to the recommendation.

Sub-Committee B – Sandy Finestone

Issues:

• #4467 – TAS Authority – The sub-committee made a recommendation to drop this issue and send a letter to the taxpayer outlining TAS Authority.  There were no objections to the recommendation.
• #4487 – Tax Law-Child Support – The sub-committee made a recommendation to drop this issue due to it being a legislative matter.  There were no objections to the recommendation.
• #4498 – Audits – The sub-committee made a recommendation to drop this issue as they do not feel this is within TAP’s purview.  There were no objections to the recommendation.
• #4502 – Walk-in Centers – The sub-committee made a recommendation to drop this issue, noting this matter was addressed in the TAC report.  They also put forth a recommendation that there be reference materials available in the walk-in centers for those with five or more applications.   There were no objections to the recommendations. 

Outreach – Sabby Jonathan
The outreach chart for January was reviewed and discussed.

Members were reminded that one-on-one discussions constitute an outreach event and should be reported each month.

Judi indicated anything members do where they are sharing information about TAP is considered outreach and should be reported as such.

Suggestions made regarding outreach reporting

• Sabby would like to see a comparison on the chart of what was reported last year vs. this year
• A breakdown of what portion of outreach is one-on-one vs.  large group events

ACTION
Janice will work on incorporating these suggestions into the monthly chart.

Charles reminded members that they can send their information to Janice anytime during the month.

Judi indicated it is her expectation to increase outreach by 10% for the year, which is part of her managerial commitments.

Suggestions for outreach opportunities

• Members were reminded to seek newspaper articles, speaking engagements where TAP is discussed, TV spots etc. constitute outreach
• Placing TAP brochures out in personal business offices
• Rebate checks have generated a lot of inquiries and provides a good segue to talk about TAP

MJ indicated Bernie would like to see everyone report outreach regardless of the number. 

Sabby indicated he is developing an excel spreadsheet for reporting outreach which he will send to Janice for posting on TAPSpace for all to use if they choose.

Success stories – Wayne Whitehead attended Maria Shriver’s event, which was held in Los Angeles. The event was set up like a tax forum, which afforded Wayne the opportunity to walk around (speaking to more than 50 people) and hand out TAP material.  Members were encouraged to look for these types of events where they could piggyback and promote TAP. 

Member Comments/Other Business
Charles reminded members to complete the meeting assessment survey.

Wayne W. informed members if they have any issues relating to the TAC’s, they can be e-mailed to him and he will forward the issue to Sallie Chavez for inclusion in her monthly report to Field Assistance management.

John thanked everyone for their excitement regarding outreach and adjourned the meeting.

Next Meeting
Wednesday, March 19, 2008