Issue Committee (W & I EITC) Meeting Minutes

March 17, 2004
Teleconference

Opening of the Meeting
Handelman opened up the meeting at 2:02 p.m. EST and welcomed all members and expressed a special welcome back to Joe Reder. Handelman thanked Ramirez for forwarding Commissioner Everson's speech to the committee. She also thanked Malcolmson for forwarding the Tax Notes article on EITC Outreach.

Panel Members In Attendance

• Jim Banks
• Laura DeMarais
• Daniel Drumel
• Gwen Handelman
• Cheyanna Jaffke
• Steve Landauer
• Nan Wilson
• Leslie Malcolmson
• Robert Maziarz
• Shamsey Oloko
• Joe Reder
• Agnes Tillerson
• Faith Vinikoor

Members Absent

• Catherine Kelly

Roll Call
Quorum met.

TAP Staff and IRS Staff In Attendance

• Kay Farrow, EITC Program
• Audrey Y. Jenkins, TAP Program Analyst
• Sandra Ramirez, Designated Federal Official

Approval of the Minutes (December, January and February)
Drumel made a motion to approve the December 17, 2003 meeting minutes and Tillerson seconded. Jaffke made a motion to approve the January 21, 2004 minutes and Vinikoor seconded. Wilson sent in corrections for the February minutes on the third page, it should state only two EITC forms were tested in the 5 year period. Reder wanted clarification as to the correct dates of the EITC Las Vegas Meeting. Jenkins indicated the dates shown in the minutes are correct and that the TAP calendar dates need correcting so she will notify Marla to correct it. Handelman stated that under Education, Publications and Forms on the second page the word Publication was missing the letter “s”. Wilson stated that the titles “Education, Publications and Forms” as well as “Marketing and Outreach” should not be underscored because they were part of follow-up actions. Wilson also stated that the action item for Jenkins to set up a conference call for the Education, Publications and Forms Subcommittee was for the Area 5 Committee. Jenkins will remove this item and corresponding action item from the minutes. Gwen Handelman moved to approve the February 18, 2004 minutes as amended and Joe Reder seconded. Jenkins will amend and forward the corrected copy to the Committee.

Follow-up on Action Items from the Previous Meeting

Jenkins

• Set up a Subcommittee conference call on rural outreach with Margaret Warren, Director, Partner and Product Development. (Completed March 15, 2004 @ 3:30 p.m. ET )
• Invite Ron Smith, Sue Sottile and a SPEC contact to the March 17, 2004 teleconference to discuss VITA partnering with YMCA and with other organizations (how a partnership is established, what kind of commitment is required from an organization, what literature about partnering is available, etc.). Ron Smith was unavailable for the March 17, 2004 meeting, but was available for Thursday, April 29, 2004 at 2:00 p.m. ET. (Completed)
• Confirm Las Vegas reservations. Hotel has been changed from the Circus Circus Hotel to the Flamingo Las Vegas. (Completed)
• Research was completed for Anaheim , Atlanta , Denver , Seattle , and San Diego for the period of August 15-17, 2004 for the second face-to-face meeting. The three least expensive were Atlanta , Anaheim and Denver . (Completed) The full Committee approved the dates of August 15-17, 2004. There will be a Tax Forum in New Orleans on August 17-19, 2004. Jenkins will research New Orleans to accommodate the Program Owners and coordinate with the Tax Forum.

Farrow

• Forward the draft of Form 3498 revisions to the Committee. Farrow spoke to Bill Phillips and the Committee's input was forwarded to the W & I website and is being considered. There is a new Form 3498 that is being developed for the Service Center . The draft is not yet available. (Carried over to April)
• Find out about the two forms that were tested in the five year period from 1997 through 2002. (Completed)
• Provide the Committee with written criteria for Forms Testing. Procedures are not yet completed. Farrow will inform Committee if the written criteria for forms testing will be available for the May meeting. (Carried over to April)
• Provide Committee with draft of the stuffer that would go in notices that are sent to taxpayers. (Carried over to April)
• Provide the Committee with specific EITC questions related to the website irs.gov. (Carried over to April)

All Members

• Submit comments to Handelman Re: Qualifying Child Residency Test Q&As. (Completed)

Handelman

• Forward the Committee's recommendation to the program owners and staff for the On-line Toolkit for SPEC and partners. (Completed)

Landauer

• Present W-4 written proposal to Overclaims and Analysis Subcommittee along with attachments. (Completed)

Tillerson

• Provide Committee with EITC Article from the Jacksonville , Florida Times Union Newspaper. (Completed)

Education, Publications and Forms Subcommittee

• Prepare recommendations regarding Earned Income Tax Credit forms. (Completed)

Marketing and Outreach Subcommittee

• Jenkins will set up a teleconference with Jan Zombro from SPEC regarding Rural Outreach. (Completed with Margaret Warren, Director of Partner and Product Development)
• Jenkins will invite Margaret Warren to the March Teleconference. (Carried over to April)

Office Report
Ramirez directed everyone to note the call-in number and participant code for this meeting. In the future, the call-in number and participant code will remain the same for every call unless otherwise noted. Handelman asked if Farrow had a report. Farrow had none. Handelman asked Farrow to think about who are the EITC program people who can give input at the May face to face meeting and are responsible for making changes with respect to the issues the subcommittees are looking at.

Subcommittee Chair Reports

Marketing and Outreach Subcommittee
The Subcommittee had a teleconference on March 15, 2004 with Margaret Warren, Director Partner and Product Development. Warren explained the IRS' use of “trusted channels” which are institutions in the communities that are “trusted” by local citizens. Warren defined “rural' as everything that is not “Large Metropolitan”, “Small Metropolitan” , or Large Suburban.” Warren mentioned partnering with national groups versus local groups; the Subcommittee decided to continue with specific discussion on this topic at the April teleconference with Ron Smith. Warren then discussed different funding avenues for national EITC outreach, such as the Annie E. Casey Foundation and faith-based groups. Warren also stated that SPEC has 48 Territorial Offices. She also mentioned there is a SPEC link on the www.irs.gov website that solicits partners and lists activities for SPEC. Warren briefly discussed activities in mountain areas, mobile units, and kiosks. It is apparent that each local SPEC office has developed their own activities for rural areas. Warren then spoke about technology and possible future on-line delivery of the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) training. The Subcommittee asked Warren if she could investigate if a demonstration of the on-line training would be available for the May face-to-face meeting. Warren also agreed to help facilitate a teleconference with representation from the Denver and Austin SPEC Offices to discuss use of kiosks and rural programs in the mountain states. Malcolmson will circulate the Subcommittee meeting minutes with the specific IRS website address for partner links. Jenkins will also invite a representative from the Las Vegas SPEC Office to address the full Committee at the May face-to-face meeting.

Overclaims Analysis Subcommittee
Vinikoor received the modification of the W2 and W4 proposal from Landauer. She will forward it to the Committee for feedback, consolidate it and present the finished product to the full Committee at the May face-to-face meeting. Vinikoor asked Farrow to clarify the level of evaluation she would like on the electronic practitioner toolkit. Farrow stated that the objective for the practitioner's toolkit is to help a preparer determine if a client qualifies for the Earned Income Tax Our feedback could help specify changes and corrections, yet needs to be balanced with the cost of the contractor making changes. In terms of “hits”, Farrow said that she believes the contractor is keeping a record, she will check and send the numbers in an email to the Committee.

Education, Publications and Forms Subcommittee
Wilson stated that the testing of EITC forms is just a small part of the problem. In fact, Area 5 has researched and submitted a proposal to the Joint Committee on the broader issue of forms testing, which has been approved. Thus, Wilson recommends the EITC Committee drop this item. Landauer suggested that the EITC Committee could assist in EITC focus group selection; Wilson responded that a previous speaker indicated that a contractor was hired to actually set up the groups. Landauer recommended the forms be sent to individuals who actually use them in order for them to be properly tested. Handelman suggested the Subcommittee keep this issue on the table and address it further by the May face-to-face meeting. Wilson, Tillerson, Oloko, Kelly and Landauer are current members of the Subcommittee. Wilson said that the subcommittee still has to review and provide feedback about 1) the EITC information on at the www.irs.gov website from the individual's point of view; and 2) the EITC audit notice stuffer. The subcommittee is waiting for direction from Farrow on these items.

Farrow expressed an interest in helping to set the agenda and select speakers for the May face-to-face meeting. Handelman stated that she and Ramirez would also be involved. The time allotted to each presenter will be determined by their availability and preferences. As it stands now, Handelman anticipates Subcommittees will be scheduled to meet two half-days of the three-day meeting. Farrow also stated that the report on the Certification process should be available for the upcoming meeting and that David Williams could be one of the individuals to address the Committee on this issue.

Handelman asked Farrow to put together a list of persons with their titles who could speak to the committee and subcommittees at the May meeting in Las Vegas so that Jenkins could confirm their availability.

Joint Committee Report
Handelman stated that recruitment period for new members is April 1 to April 30, 2004. Applications can be submitted online at www.improveirs.org. The states that will be recruiting new members are: Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, Maine, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Michigan, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, Florida, Georgia, Arizona, Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Puerto Rico, Ohio, Wisconsin, Okalahoma, Michigan, Texas, Missouri, North Dakota, Colorado, and California. The other states are seeking alternates. Current TAP members may be asked to be in on interviews in their area. Handelman stated that the EITC Committee would be losing Dan Drumel, Cheyanna Jaffke, Catherine Kelly and Shamsey Oloko.

The TAP Annual Report is still on Nina Olson's desk; however, she has committed to responding to Seuntjens, the TAP Chair, by next week.

It has been determined that under FACA the DFO (Designated Federal Official) is not a voting committee member and is not counted for a quorum. Handelman went on to state that maybe the Committee should reconsider its quorum requirements at the May meeting.

There was a unanimous vote of the Joint Committee that compliance issues were relevant to TAP Committees. This was in response to a proposal from the Schedule C Non-Filer Committee that non-compliance issues not be addressed through TAP, as representing taxpayers and not the Agency.

The Area 5 Forms Testing proposal establishing written criteria for forms testing was approved and elevated.

New Business
Area 1 Chair, Jim Grimaldi referred a complaint from a Low Income Tax Clinic attorney on the EITC Examination Process to us. The situation involves the correspondence examination communication process -- it is difficult for a taxpayer to use correspondence to explain a complicated situation and at some point there has to be an actual discussion with the examiner. Also, when the IRS rejects a claim it is done through the mail without an opportunity for the taxpayer to speak to someone. When an adjustment is made, the 30 Day Notice is very general and difficult for the taxpayer to understand. It was decided that the Overclaims and Analysis Subcommittee will work this issue. Ramirez will forward any items from the original complaint to Vinikoor.

Closing Comments
Members agreed that the meeting went well.

Next Meeting: Thursday, April 29, 2004 at 2:00 p.m. EDT.

Action Items

Jenkins

• Provide correct meeting dates to Marla to correct TAP calendars.
• Amend minutes of the February meeting as noted above and send to members.
• Research New Orleans as a site for the May face-to-face meeting.
• Invite Margaret Warren to the April teleconference.
• Arrange teleconference with Denver and Austin SPEC staff to discuss use of kiosks and rural outreach.
• Invite Las Vegas SPEC staff to the May face-to-face meeting.

Malcolmson

• Circulate Subcommittee meeting minutes with the website address for organizations interested in outreach partnerships with SPEC.

Farrow

• Forward the draft of Form 3498 revisions to members. Farrow spoke to Bill Phillips and the Committee's input was forwarded to the W & I website and is being considered. There is a new Form 3498 that is being developed for the Service Center . The draft is not yet available.
• Research the written criteria for EITC forms testing and present at the May meeting, if available.
• Provide members with a draft of the EITC stuffer that would go in notices that are sent to taxpayers.
• Provide number of hits at the EITC electronic toolkit for practitioner's site.
• Provide the Committee with specific EITC questions to consider related to the evaluation of the website http://www.irs.gov.