Wage & Investment Reduce Taxpayer Burden (Notices) Meeting Minutes

April 6, 2006

Participants (Panel Members)

• Marilynn Clapp
• Lee Congdon
• Mike Guthman
• Joe Hurr
• Allena Kaplan
• Martin Romeril
• Allen Scioli
• Max Scott
• Sandy Searleman
• Lee Stieger
• Warren Wong
• J. T. Wright

Not Present

• David Jones
• David Meister
• Mary Suther

Staff Members

• Sallie Chavez, TAP Program Analyst
• Nancy Ferree, TAP Program Manager

Guests

• James (Jim) A. Cesarano, Tax Analyst, Wage & Investment, Notice Improvement Office, Program Owner Representative
• Benson Chapman, TAP applicant from New Jersey

Welcome
Committee Chair Allen Scioli welcomed everyone.

Roll Call
Analyst/Recorder Sallie Chavez took the roll call and quorum of nine (9) was met.

Face-to-Face Meeting
TAP Program Analyst Sallie Chavez reviewed the face-to-face meeting plans. A draft agenda of the meeting has been started. The program owners have promised to have some work for the committee to do during the meeting. She asked that everyone get their travel requests to TAP Secretary Jenny Reyes as soon as possible since she has three (3) other meeting she is working to complete travel arrangements. Make sure to contact TAP Program Analyst Chavez with your credit card number or, if there is a record of your credit card, just the last four (4) digits and she can get the number on file.

Comments from Program Owner
Program Owner Representative Jim Cesarano said that Analyst Geoff Gerbore has received the reports on the usablity testing for the CP79. He would like the DAT scores from the committee as soon as possible so that he can review them and set up a conference call with the members of the team to discuss the scoring.

Analyst Gerbore has some other work for the committee. He would like them to review the Forms 886DP, 886HOH and 886EIC. These are not really forms but inserts that go with notices. He would like them reviewed and get information on what would make it easier to understand.

Sidney Gardner may attend the Detroit Face-to-Face meeting to introduce the BMF notices to the committee to prioritize. If not, Jim Cesarano will do it.

The before scores have been done on the CP23, 24 and 25. Now a Dynamic Project Team (DPT) has been funded. The lead for this team is David Tyree. Jim asked David to keep this TAP committee as a stakeholder.

The Goals and Objectives are still being studied.

Another project that Ann Gelineau would like the committee to review is stuffers. This project may help and matches the goals set by the committee.

The committee is still a stakeholder for the Notice Elimination Notice Process Improvement. There is nothing to report. They are still getting information and there is no funding for travel. They may have a face-to-face meeting later in the year. The team has eliminated some notices but hasn’t eliminated any in Phase 2.

Chair Allen Scioli wants a meeting set up to complete the Goals & Objectives.

Chair Allen Scioli stated that the Joint Committee discussed that they want the IRS to give the issue committees issues that are pre-decisional issues. He asked how this affects this committee. Jim Cesarano explained that the DPT does that.

Sub-Committee Reports

• CP79
  Committee Member Martin Romeril stated he needs to collect one more score. He stated the scoring should be done by Monday, April 10. He will send the completed scored to TAP Program Analyst Sallie Chavez to be forwarded to Analyst Geoff Gerbore.

• DAT
  Team 2 (Allena Kaplan’s team) has completed the scoring and has forwarded the results to Analyst Sallie Chavez.

  Both Teams 1 and 3 need one more score to complete. They said they would have it completed by Monday, April 10.

  Team 4 has a correspondex letter and needs some help in completing the DAT. Jim Cesarano will stay on the call after the meeting to help this team understand the correspondex letter.

Joint Committee Report
Chair Allen Scioli stated several member of the Joint Committee are going to meet with the Commissioner later this month. The hot topic is the new procedures allowing practitioners to sell tax information. This tax law as been in effect but the IRS is now clarifying it. They want to protect taxpayers from this information being “hidden” in the paperwork taxpayer sign. The TAP is supports protecting disclosure. The Joint Committee want input to take to the Commission. Allena Kaplan suggests the committee read the information before making comments. Warren Wong is confused and wants to know what position TAP is taking. Allen Scioli stated they are pro-disclosure and privacy. This is a legislative position but the TAP wants to give their input. He wants committee members to forward their comments to him and he will forward to the Joint Committee

Other Comments
Allen would like to meet and get the top five (5) priorities for the committee to work.

Meeting Close
Next Meeting will be a conference call on May 4, 2006.