W&I Earned Income Tax Credit Committee Meeting Minutes
December 13, 2006, 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Hyatt Regency Washington on Capital Hill
400 New Jersey Avenue, Washington, DC

Program Owner

• Williams, David - Director, EITC and Health Coverage Tax Credit

Designated Federal Official

• Ramirez, Sandra - Brooklyn, NY - Panel Member

Committee Members Present (These attendees count for quorum)

• Broniarczyk, Robert - Romeoville, IL - Panel Member
• Chen, Betty - Pound Ridge, NY - Panel Member
• Cooper III, Dale - Atlanta, GA - Vice Chair
• Davis, JoAnn - Scott Depot, WV - Panel Member
• Kennedy, Jeffrey - Louisville, KY - Panel Member
• Lester, Judy - Chapel Hill, NC - Panel Member
• Sosa, Iris - Fontana, CA - Panel Member
• Tanna, Wayne - Honolulu, HI - Panel Member
• Wernz, Stanley - Cincinnati, OH - Chair
• Widmer, Harris - Fargo, ND - Panel Member

Committee Members Absent

• Rivera, Ralph - Garland, TX - Panel Member

TAP Staff

• Jenkins, Audrey - Brooklyn, NY - Analyst
• Odom, Meredith - Brooklyn, NY - Secretary

Other Attendees

• Woo, Beadsie, Retiring Chair, 2006 EITC Committee
• McDavid, Elijah, Policy Analyst, EITC Office     
• O’Brien, Mary, Program Analyst, EITC Office
• Tiah Roberts, Program Analyst, EITC Office

Introduction, Agenda Review & Icebreaker
Ramirez greeted both new and returning members, reviewed the agenda and gave members a chance to introduce themselves by doing an icebreaker.

Roles, Committee Structure & Expectations
Woo explained:

• Roles of Staff, Program Owners, Chairs and Members

• Subcommittee
• Protocol, Participation & Quorum

Election Process
Ramirez explained the election process for Chair and Vice Chair Positions.

Roles of the Committee Chair and Vice Chair Presented by Woo
Chair

• Serve as the representative for the Area on the Joint Committee (JC)
• Present the final Area committee’s recommendations to JC
• Lead committee Meetings
• Partner in the development of meeting agendas
• Ensure decision are made by consensus within the committee
• Prepare an annual self-assessment
• Prepare a monthly committee report
• Ensure everyone on the Committee is heard
• Keep TAP Staff informed of all needs
• Ensure committee receives all research and documentation needed to make recommendations
• Delegate chair responsibility to the vice-chair or other committee member, on occasion, when unable to attend a meeting or perform a Chair duty
• Respond timely to all staff and Joint Committee requests and inquiries

Vice Chair

• Serve as a back-up for Chair
• Perform other duties on a regular basis as agreed upon with Chair and TAP Staff

Committee Accomplishments in Fiscal Year 2006
Woo gave a brief summary of the issues the 2006 EITC Committee worked on and what accomplishments were made.

Election of Chair and Vice Chair
Chair – Stanley Wernz
Vice Chair – Dale Cooper

Establishing Structure:

• Teleconferences Dates – 2nd Monday at 10:30 A.M. ET on alternate months (odd months)
• Face to Face Meeting Date – May 31, 2007 – June 2, 2007
• Formation of Subcommittee – To be determined at a later date

Program Owner Presentation
Williams, O’Brien and Roberts addressed the committee and did an overview of the EITC program, and addressed the expectations of the members and the program owner.

EITC population now includes a number of Limited English Proficient Taxpayers, an increase in Schedule C filers, and non traditional families. The EITC program faces considerable challenges in meeting its goals which are to increase participation among eligible taxpayers and to reduce the amount of EITC paid in error.

In 2005 the Commissioner had a five point initiative supported by $50 million in FY 2004 and $25 million in FY2005. They were to reduce the backlog of EITC examinations, improve the audit process, encourage eligible taxpayers to claim EITC, refocus compliance efforts on those whose income is too high to claim the credit and test approaches to certifying eligible children and other issues with a high risk of error.

The IRS has been conducting tests to address the three main sources of EITC errors. EITC is also improving the return preparer strategy. The return preparer strategy goals: are methodical and balanced between compliance and outreach; are multi-year and research-driven; support(s) results based business decision making.   Prior to expanding scope of strategy, objectives are: to identify the best tools to select potentially non-compliant preparers; to identify trends/patterns; to refine selection criteria and selection tools; and, to maintain the results of these visits to track the behavior of the preparers that receive(d) due diligence visits. The other efforts to reduce EITC errors are: to analyze EITC returns to develop more complete information on EITC compliance; to develop new tools for EITC examiners to improve audits and reduce audit errors; to implement paid preparer programs to address non-compliant tax preparers; to develop examination strategies that respond quickly to changing trends; and, to identify and test new sources of data to systemically verify/validate EITC claimant information. Determining eligibility can be difficult for IRS and taxpayer because EITC requirements are complex, much of the required information is not available on tax returns or reported to IRS by third parties, supporting documentation (such as school records) may not be readily available to taxpayers, final determination may require IRS to look into living situation of taxpayer and especially difficult given the wide variation in American living arrangements. The EITC Assistant is an easy-to-use web-based tool that shows you whether you qualify for the EITC, and why. It is available in English and Spanish. There are three Electronic Toolkits to address EITC issues based on specific audience needs.  They are (e)Electronic (t)Toolkit for (p)Partners, (e)Electronic (t)Toolkit for (p)Practitioners and (p)Press (k)Kits.

O’Brien requested the members (to continue) to review the websites provided (www.eitcforpractitioners.com; www.irs-eitc.info/spec/; www/irs.gov/eitc). She will be providing them with the task at the January teleconference.