Taxpayer Assistance Center (TAC)
Issue Committee Meeting
Teleconference Minutes
January 29, 2008

Program Owner
Beth Tucker
Michelle Jones, Field Assistance Analyst

Designated Federal Official
Judi Nicholas

Members Present
Dean Conder
Dan Fretheim
Bob Haines
Ed Johnson, Vice-Chair
Louise McAulay
Jerry Melchior
David Monnier
Homer Sewell III
Ann Spiotto
Tommy Thompson
Wayne Whitehead, Chair
Regina White

Member Absent
Craig Capehart

Guests
Deborah Glover
Peggy Sue Unander

Staff
Dave Coffman, Program Analyst

Welcome/Announcements
Wayne welcomed the members.  Dave took roll call and a quorum was met. 

Review of the Project
Beth reviewed the task that was assigned to the committee at the December meeting in Washington, DC.  She asked the committee to provide input on a very high profile issue which impacts the TAC customer – the tax return preparation appointment process.  Beth noted some of the problems that currently plague the process and asked the committee to use their collective expertise to take a fresh, non-biased look at this issue and offer suggestions to enhance the process.  Beth also mentioned that the current thought on return preparation is that each and every TAC should handle the appointment process consistently.  This being said, Beth suggested that the committee look at the process in small, medium and large TACs and see what works best for each office size.  Any recommendation from the committee would need to account for the current resource and physical space constraints in each of the TACs. 

Wayne recommended analyzing the problem using a three-step process.  The first step is to understand the process.  The second step is to characterize the process and the third step is to put the data on a fishbone diagram, which will help the committee to see some suggested improvements.  Between now and May, the committee will do a lot of data gathering and a lot of characterizing of what’s been observed. 

Bob asked if the purpose of the first TAC visit is to simply observe the process.  Wayne agreed and said that a later visit could involve an in-depth discussion with the manager and possibly even an employee.  Bob asked if two visits are really necessary.  Couldn’t an interview be completed with the first visit?  Wayne agreed and said that the interview could be completed on the first visit.  Some members may be well-versed with the TAC operation while others may not.  Beth agreed and suggested that the committee play it by ear. 

Jerry noted that it’s been more difficult to schedule a TAC visit than in the past.  Beth replied that if a member is having a problem getting in touch with a TAC manager it may be due to some of the training demands on managers of new employees.  If a member continues to have a problem reaching a manager, please contact Michelle and she will get the member in touch with the manager.  Judi added that the staff has had much less time to coordinate the visits than in the past.  If members continue to experience problems with TAC managers not responding, they should let Dave know so he can work with Michelle on getting a response back to the member.
ACTION:  Members having trouble reaching local TAC managers should inform Dave of the problems they’re having. 

Dan asked if Dave should be contacted to schedule a follow up visit with the manager.  Michelle replied that once the territory managers know about the visit, it’s okay to discuss a follow-up visit directly with the manager. 

Bob asked if data is available for the TAC that he’s scheduled to visit.  Dave will work with Michelle on getting return preparation data for each TAC being visited.  Wayne said that the TAC manager should have that info too.  Beth offered to share the distribution of new hires, the staff levels and number of returns prepared at the TACs that are being visited.
ACTION:  Michelle will provide Dave with the staff figures and the number of returns that are prepared at the TACs being visited.  Dave will share this data with the committee.       

TAC Visits
Dave provided an update on the TAC visits.  Except for one person, each member has identified a TAC to visit.  Dave is in the process of sending out e-mails addressing reimbursement for mileage, contact information for the TAC managers and other odds and ends to ensure a smooth visit.  Dave noted that one member has already experienced his first TAC visit.  Dave also asked the members to treat the phone number they have for the manager as confidential and use it only for work with this committee. 

Next Steps
Judi asked Wayne for his vision on how the TAC experiences will be shared among the committee members.  Wayne replied that conference calls in February and March will be good opportunities for members to inform the committee of their observations.  The big rollout of information will be at the face-to-face meeting in May, when the fishbone diagram is put together.  However, before the face-to-face meeting, there will be two conference calls and some e-mail exchanges characterizing the committee’s findings.  Wayne will send out a one-page document explaining a process that’s commonly used in improvement projects.  This document will provide some excellent questions to ask during the TAC visits.
ACTION:  Wayne will send the members a document titled, Understand, Characterize, Improve.
ACTION:  Members will share information from their visits on the February conference call. 

Wayne asked Dean to comment on his recent TAC visit.  The visit, which Dean found to be very productive, lasted about an hour.  Dean expressed some confusion between the role of the Stakeholders Partnerships Education & Communication (SPEC) office and the role of the TACs.  Judi explained that SPEC oversees the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance and Tax Counseling for the Elderly organizations.  These organizations serve as volunteer income tax preparers.  Beth confirmed that the TACs provide income tax preparation services by IRS employees. 

Judi noted that the National Taxpayer Advocate’s 2007 Annual Report to Congress addresses several areas of the TAC return preparation process.  This would be good to read, not to sway anyone’s opinion but to be better informed about the process.  Dean also shared some observations on seasonal employees, forms availability in outlying offices, and use of the public incoming phone line.
ACTION:  Dave will send the committee the portion of the 2007 Annual Report to Congress that addresses the TAC return preparation process.    

Wayne asked Beth if there are any penalties imposed on taxpayers that don’t show up for their appointment.  Beth replied that there are no penalties imposed for a taxpayer missing an appointment.

Beth spoke of some changes that were made to the return preparation appointment process, based on observations she made in her TAC visits.  Beth replied that the committee should also review the new guidance memorandum that was distributed to all TAC employees.
ACTION:  Michelle will send Dave a copy of the new guidance memorandum.  Dave will distribute the memo to the committee. 

Judi mentioned that an Internal Revenue Manual (IRM) excerpt on the return preparation process, dated Nov. 27, 2007, was recently distributed.  Michelle noted that a more current manual is being written.
ACTION:  Michelle will provide Dave with a more current IRM on the return preparation process.  Dave will then distribute it to the committee. 

Program Owner Comments:
Beth commented that she’s looking forward to this project developing over the next few months.

Member Comments:
Wayne informed members that they can fill out the meeting assessment if they wish.  No other comments were made.

Closing:
Judi thanked everyone for a productive call and closed the meeting.