Wage & Investment Reduce Taxpayer Burden (Notices) Meeting Minutes

April 7, 2005
Noon ET

Participants (Panel Members):

• Anthony DiMartino
• Dick Greenberg
• Michael Guthman
• Sonny Kasturi
• Allena Lu
• Joyce Natter
• David Robinson
• Martin Romeril
• Ferd Scheider
• Sanford Searleman
• Virginia Symonds
• R. Jeana Warren
• Douglas Wilhelm
• Warren Wong
• James Wright

Not Present:

• John Hollingsworth
• Don Miller

Staff Members:

• Sallie Chavez (Recorder)
• Nancy Ferree (DFO)

Guests

• James (Jim) A. Cesarano, Program Analyst, Wage & Investment, Single Point of Contact (SPOC) Representative

Welcome
Committee Chair Mike Guthman welcomed everyone. He would like to add something to the agenda. He would like to talk about the feedback from the last meeting later in the meeting.

Roll Call
Program Analyst/Recorder Sallie Chavez took the roll call and quorum of eight (8) was met.

Review/Approval of Prior Meeting Minutes
The meeting minutes were approved by consensus.

Joint Committee Report
Committee Chair Mike Guthman said he sent out TAP Director Bernie Coston’s notes from the Joint Committee Conference Call. The Joint Committee reviewed proposal and dealt with the status of issues. They also discussed legislative issues.

TAP Program Manager Nancy Ferree reminded everyone that TAP was recruiting for new member until April 29. She asked them to actively recruit. TAP will be selecting about 40 new members.

She also informed the committee about the Tax Forums scheduled for this summer. They will be at six (6) locations – San Francisco, Houston, Atlanta, New York, Las Vegas and Chicago. Area Committees will be asking for volunteers.

TAP Program Manager Ferree also mentioned that TAP was working of direct deposits for travel reimbursements. Form will be sent out soon. This is not mandatory.

Face-to-Face Meeting
TAP Program Analyst Sallie Chavez reported all is well with the face-to-face meeting in Atlanta on May 20 and 21. The meeting on Friday (May 20th) will be at the Summit Federal Building which is two (2) blocks from the hotel. The meeting on Saturday (May 21st) will be at the hotel. Hopefully we will have a DRAFT Agenda for the meeting by the May 5th meeting. Committee Chair Mike Guthman asked for suggestions for the meeting. Email them to TAP Program Analyst and him as soon as possible.

Feedback
Committee Chair Mike Guthman stated that one of the areas of concern from the survey was that of participation. He agrees that there is not very much participation. He asked if anyone had any ideas. He said right now there is a limited amount of work but it will increase. DFO Nancy Ferree stated that this was a common affect with a large committee. One solution would be to ask individuals for input. One member suggested putting bullets under the item so the committee members could be prepared. Another suggestion was to have reports emailed to member ahead of time. If information could be provided to the Analyst in advance, she could distribute it before the meeting. One member asked for background information on all the members. DFO Nancy Ferree stated this information should be on TAPSpeak. Some were not. It was suggested to have introductions at the face-to-face meeting. This will be incorporated into the face-to-face meeting agenda.

Sub-Committee Reports
Committee Chair Mike Guthman stated there was very little activity last month. There was one Notice Elimination NPIIT teleconference but there was not enough notice given to have a representative on the call.

DAT Sub-Committee
TAP Program Analyst Sallie Chavez reported for Sub-Committee Chair Don Miller that teams were forms to score notices using the DAT. Only two (2) members have not been trained to use the DAT. They will be trained with the next couple of weeks. She asked that they contact her with their availability. She will be sending out notices to be scored. Try to have them done by the face-to-face meeting. Time will be set aside to work on them at that meeting.

Comments from SPOC Representative
SPOC Representative Jim Cesarano he has several issues to discuss. First, there is a Plain Language Conference in November in Washington. This worldwide organization can be found on the internet at www.plainlanguage.gov. This will be an international conference. The website for the international group is www.plainlanguagenetwork.org. SPOC Ann Gelineau is getting a panel together to participate in this conference. She would like a member of the committee to participate as well. There are some budget problems but he wanted to let the committee know about this.

SPOC Representative Jim Cesarano advised the committee that notices were printed at Service Centers. Now there are larger print sites in Ogden and Detroit. The director of these sites has invited committee members to take a tour of either of the sites. W & I does not have the fund to pay for travel. If anyone is interested, contact him of the TAP Staff.

There is a DPT coming up in the spring or summer on the Penalty and Interest portion of the notices. Deborah Maxwell will be leading this team. Committee Member Dave Robinson was previously working with Liz Williams on the Good Government Act. She would still like help on this. She would like to have volunteers help to participate. She wants to know what the taxpayer would be interested in receiving. What is useful, helpful and necessary?

SPOC Representative Jim Cesarano said he reviewed the TAP Annual Report. He wants to make sure that everything was answered. He saw there was a recommendation make on the CP521. This notice is in the final stages of being revised. He would like to know if the information was incorporated into the notice.

SPOC Representative Jim Cesarano advised the committee that the Notice Elimination NPIIT was moving along. They have accepted the DPT model. This was created by a contractor for procedure and process. Any committee members on the DPT or NPIIT sub-committees should be aware of it. The team will adapt it for their work. The next meeting for the team is scheduled for next Tuesday, April 12. The meetings are scheduled for every other Tuesday from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. It is optional for stakeholders to attend.

The private collections letters are being prepared. There is some difficulty in getting these ready. They are not ready for comments yet. SPOC Representative Jim Cesarano is actively participating in the preparation of these notices. He does not have a draft yet.

Open Action Item
This will be moved to the May face-to-face meeting in Atlanta.

Additional Comments
Committee Member Warren Wong said he would like to see before and after notices. Committee Member Tony DiMartino said the CP2000 would be a good example. TAP Program Analyst Sallie Chavez said she sent out the before and after for the CP2000 to all members. She will send it out to Committee Member Wong.

Meeting Close
Next meeting is scheduled for May 5, 2005 at noon ET.