August 22, 2003
1:00 PM- 2:00 PM EDT
Teleconference

Roll Call and Confirmation of Quorum * (6)-taken by Program Analyst Inez E. De Jesus.
Quorum: 6
Total Members Present: 7

Panel Members Present

• Linda Bader, Chesterfield, MO
• Nancy L. Ferree, FL, Designated Federal Official (DFO)
• Elizabeth Brodbine Ghoniem, Winchester, MA, Vice-Chair
• Sharon Lassar, Miami, FL, Chair
• Joseph Meissner, Cleveland, OH
• Sharon Stetz, Salt Lake City, UT
• Bruce Twomley, Juneau, AK

Members Not Present

• Abigail Alicea, Nashua, NH
• Mary Balmer, Chapel Hill, NC
• Yvonne Gallegos-Bodle, Oxnard, CA
• Delford Jones, Griffith, IN
• Kenneth Logan, Blue Springs, MO

MLI Program Owner(s)

• Nikki Oyefeso

TAP Staff

• Inez E. De Jesus (Scribe)

Guest(s)

• Maritza Michaud, Field Media Relations Manager, Communications & Liaison (C&L)

Review/Approve Meeting Minutes of June 26, 2003
Minutes were reviewed and approved by consensus.

Guest-Maritza Michaud, Field Media Relations Manager C&L (Communications & Liaison) Area 5-
Chairperson Lassar welcomed Ms. Michaud to the meeting; Ms. Michaud began by sharing that she was one of the original members of the MLI Task force group, and had recently been informed by her manager that it would be a good idea for her to participate at a TAP MLI meeting. Ms. Michaud has worked in the past with Program Owner Toni Cross as well as with Program Analyst Rafael I. Maldonado from National Office.

Ms. Michaud is also interested in seeing what has transpired within the Multilingual Issue project since her involvement with the program.

Ms. Michaud works primarily with the media in the Hispanic community on a national and local level. (Radio, Print, and TV) She is also involved with the translation of News Releases. Within the Internal Revenue Service, Ms. Michaud is the Manager of Field Media Relations, Area 5, and together with two of her employees they handle all the Spanish media in the United States and Puerto Rico.

Ms. Michaud’s primary goal is to inform Hispanic taxpayers of what is going on regarding their tax responsibilities, and any key messages important to the agency.

Discussion regarding “need vs. preference” as per Executive Order (EO) 13166, dated August 11, 2000, “Improving Federal Access to Limited English Proficient Individuals” was addressed. “Executive Order 13166 requires written translation of vital documents for regularly encountered languages”. Ms. Michaud stated that there have been many studies conducted by the IRS regarding this since there has been a demand for Spanish products to be translated from English.

Ms. Michaud shared her experiences during the time that President Bush issued the “Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001” and she was a guest on a “Univision Network” Spanish television program equivalent to “Good Morning America”. During her 5-minute talk, whereby she explained how the economic stimulus plan would impact the Hispanic community, it resulted in managers of IRS walk-in offices receiving 1200 phone calls from Spanish speaking individuals who had watched the show and were inquiring about the refund. The overwhelming response indicates a preference for tax information to be delivered in Spanish.

Further discussion addressed the following:

• The main objective is to get Limited English Proficient (LEP) individuals into the tax system and to learn of their tax responsibilities. There are other immigrants besides Spanish speaking that need to be addressed; for example, the Chinese.
• Ms. Michaud mentioned that many Spanish-speaking immigrants come from countries where taxes are not as important as it is in the United States.
• Chair Lassar reminded everyone “we need to look at what the legal obligation/commitment is”.
• There is the issue of reading and writing skills of the individual; some may be able to read and not write and visa versa. Some understand better in their own language. (Comfort level of the individual factor) Especially technical terms are very difficult to translate. The translator must have very strong language skills in both languages.
• There seems to be 2 categories: those who understand English but prefer Spanish or their language of origin, and other category is those who are not English proficient at all.
• The MLI committee’s job is to focus on “need” and not preference. Currently there is no way to measure need vs. preference.
• Program Owner Oyefeso shared that there has been studies made on the toll free line. Callers on the Spanish lines typically have longer hold times. Many do opt for the English line which tends to have a shorter waiting time.

Panel member Joe Meissner shared his experiences with dealing with immigrant groups from his community in Cleveland, Ohio. There are groups that handle English very well, and there are some that have trouble with reading or writing or both. There is a scattered spectrum. One also needs to consider the educational level of the individual.

Ms. Michaud asked the team what improved service for LEP taxpayers were they addressing in order to reach this group and Chair responded that the TAP MLI was currently working on:

• An income tax component as an ESL (English as a Second Language) program, and
• Identifying documents that are vital for translation.

Conclusion arrived at is that “need” will always be there.

Sub-committee Reports
Due to time constraints, Chair reminded all to submit their written MLI activity reports to her as soon as possible as previously requested by email. Ms. Lassar mentioned she had received some activity reports but not all.

Panel member Linda Bader shared her current experiences in setting up an ESL curriculum with a teacher she’s been working with locally in Missouri. Ms. Bader welcomes any suggestion the panel may have be sent to her by email. Ms. Bader expressed her gratitude since this teacher is volunteering her own time to work with Ms. Bader and at no cost. Regarding the lesson plan there are many resources already available.

Ms. Michaud responded upon request that the curriculum should be very basic, only need to know information. The key should be to make them aware of the importance of tax obligations; e.g. the April 15th deadline, and the responsibility of filing a tax return if needed. Also, it is very important to refer them to where they may obtain correct and accurate assistance.

The issue of making estimated tax payments may be a concern for self-employed individuals.

Ms. Bader also mentioned that there is a great need for information to be obtained via software since studies have indicated that people are using more computers these days.

Panel member Elizabeth Brodbine Ghoniem emphasized that the following should be communicated:

Obligations of the taxpayer: why are you paying taxes and the benefits for the individual. Ms. Michaud piggybacked on this and shared that when she conducts her speeches she often uses this as her opening statement “who do you think makes up the roads?” and “who pays for the teachers salaries at public schools?”; start from the basics and stick to the basics.

How and why of taxes: taxpayer’s responsibility and rights. The delivery of this information needs to be improved.

A general thought is the development of software (interactive site) that may be displayed in churches and/or other places where most immigrant folks trust. Question arose: does the IRS have the money for this? Bader shared that on the IRS website there is currently a lot of tax information available (teacher and student guide)

Importance of record keeping: Low Income Tax Clinics (LITC) should be contacted for guidance and input on how do they communicate this to their clients.

Panel member Joe Meissner summarized the following concepts:

1. The why we have taxes needs to be communicated to LEP’s.
2. Plan earlier since April 15th is the date the Form 1040 Individual Income Tax Return is due.
3. The importance of keeping records.

Mr. Meissner also reminded everyone of the MLI face-to-face meeting in Miami, Florida where there were guests from LITC’s. It was discussed then how newcomers to this country do not understand the tax concept and need to go where they feel they can trust the individuals that are assisting them. How do we get this information to them? There may need to be coordination between Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS), LITC, and VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) centers. Perhaps over the telephone interpreters might be an option to consider.

Action item: Program Owner Oyefeso will be sending Panel Member Bader the name of the LITC contact person in St. Louis.

Chair Lassar shared with all that the Ad-hoc committee recently is addressing a publicity regarding financial literacy campaign that is going on.

There are also videos that can be streamed from the IRS web site in both English and Spanish, which are crucial for small business individuals on many topics. For example, one discusses the difference between employees and contractors.

Chambers of Commerce may be a great resource.

It was suggested that Bader work on finalizing “an outline of the ESL curriculum” to be proposed and allow for teacher to add her own creativity. Chair Lassar asked Bader to request specific assistance she may need from the committee. The curriculum should also include information on finding a good preparer and that the preparer signs the return. (Head of household and EITC issues)

Chair concluded by stating that the legal aspect surrounding vital documents is overwhelming.

Committee’s Task: By annual meeting scheduled for October 2-4, 2003 in D.C., this committee is to draft a position paper from MLI regarding the ESL Curriculum; best bet would be to create an outline and not the entire curriculum.

DFO Ferree shared that during the recent Tax Forum in Atlanta, Georgia, panel members George Sullivan (Area 3) and Chair Sharon Lassar had the opportunity to meet with National Taxpayer Advocate Nina E. Olson and Ms. Olson expressed that she is very supported of the work that the TAP MLI group is doing.

DFO Ferree asked Program Owner Oyefeso if the ESOL Curriculum project was in accordance with the goals and mission of the committee. Ms. Oyefeso expressed her support; she stated that such a curriculum would help deal with the issue of educating LEP taxpayers, and it fulfills some of the objectives of the MLI.

New Business Report from Program Owner
Oyefeso reviewed the TAP MLI PowerPoint presentation dated August 22, 2003 (attachment) that was distributed to all from Toni Cross on this same date. She gave a quick overview due to time constraints of the 19-page document.

In summary, out of 139 “vital documents” submitted by various units within the IRS, 65 documents had not been translated into Spanish. Analysis included revisiting “vital documents: as defined by Executive Order 13166; and, Spanish is the only language being considered for translation at this time. Ms. Oyefeso shared that the Form 1040, and its related forms and publications seems to be a big issue. The question is “do we want to do the form and instructions?”

The current “Recommendations” (page 13) are:

• Translate the 30 High Impact Documents (approving 104 documents “vital for translation”
• Pilot translation of 1040 instructions only,
• Provide the Tele-tax topics and narratives in Spanish on IRS Website.

Next steps (page 14):

• Obtain the Commissioner’s level approval of “vital documents” list, and
• Work with Business Operating Divisions to implement.

MLI Needs Assessment Process (page 16):
Demographic Assessment:

• Assessment of LEP persons “eligible to be served or encountered”.
• Used as a basis for determining needed/meaningful access.

Agency Assessment:

• Assessment of multilingual products and services available to LEP customers.
• Used to determine gaps and weakness in level of access.

Program Effectiveness Assessment:

• Provide a process for continual feedback from internal and external stakeholders.
• Used to ensure customer satisfaction.

Next steps: (page 19)

• Work with owners to formalize and document the MLI Assessment Process.
• Develop a Plan of Communication for the new MLI Assessment Process.
• Develop a Baseline Needs Assessment.

Chair Lassar shared with the committee that she had recently been invited to attend the August 4, 2003, MLI Executive Council meeting in Atlanta, and had received a better understanding of the tasks and issues that MLI face. Chair Lassar expressed her gratitude to the Program Owners for this invitation.

News from the Staff

1. Tap Speak-
   DFO Ferree reminded the members who had not registered yet on “TAP Speak” to please do so as soon as possible. If assistance is needed the TAP Staff is available.
2. Outreach Requests-
   DFO also reminded the members to keep the Staff aware of any outreach activities that may require funding approval.

Public Participation/Input
None

Closing Assessment
Chair Lassar shared with the committee that during the upcoming Annual Business meeting, all committees are to give a 10-minute presentation on their accomplishments so far. Chair requested volunteers to coordinate the presentation.

Also Chair needs to coordinate all written reports before the Annual Business meeting.

Outline from Linda Bader is also expected before the Annual Business meeting.

Chair also asked: “Vital Documents- “do we as a committee, want to pursue this?”

Since meeting went over the usual one-hour timeframe, DFO Ferree suggested that the next meeting be expanded to 90 minutes instead of 60 minutes; the committee agreed.

Next Teleconference Meeting will be held on Friday, September 19, 2003 at 1:00 PM-2:30 PM, EDT, Same dial-in number and participants’ code.