Taxpayer Assistance Center (TAC)
Issue Committee
Face-to-Face Meeting
Denver, CO
May 29 – 31, 2008

Thursday, May 29, 2008
Friday, May 30, 2008
Saturday, May 31, 2008

Program Owner
Beth Tucker
Michelle Jones, TAC Analyst
Peggy Sue Unander, TAC Supervisory Analyst

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

Member Absent
Regina White

Staff
Judi Nicholas, TAP Program Manager
Dave Coffman, TAP Program Analyst
Nina Pang, TAP Program Analyst
Marla Ofilas, TAP Secretary

Thursday, May 29, 2008

Opening
Wayne opened the meeting and thanked everyone for attending. A quorum was met.  Judi reviewed the agenda.

Ice Breaker
Each participant made a brief introduction to the committee.   

Meeting Minutes Approval
The committee had an opportunity to review the minutes from the April 22, 2008 meeting. 
DECISION: The committee approved the April 22, 2008 minutes with no additional changes.

Program Owner Opening Comments
Beth thanked the members for taking the time to visit their local Taxpayer Assistance Centers (TAC).

Beth provided a brief update on filing season activities.  Due to the distribution of Economic Stimulus Payments (ESP), there was an increase in the number of customers visiting TACs.  Many TAC employees worked overtime and provided Saturday service to accommodate the demands. Field Assistance is now considering Saturday service because many customers are unable to take time off work during the week to visit their local TAC.  In addition, many customers that entered the TACs on “Super Saturday,” were not there for ESP assistance. Beth noted that return prep results were impressive. Overall, TACs experienced a 60% increase in walk-in traffic during this filing season.  This increase was largely due to ESP.

History of the Committee
For the benefit of newer committee members, Judi provided some background on the TAC Committee.  During the first two years after the committee was formed, panel members provided recommendations that led to changes in the Publication Method Guide (PMG), a desk aid used by TAC employees to answer tax law questions.  The committee also reviewed and reported on TAC customer service, from the perspective of both the TAC customer and the TAC employee. 

This year the full committee is charged with providing recommendations on improving the return preparation process, from beginning to end. 

Taxpayer Assistance Blueprint (TAB2)
Judi explained the IRS was charged by Congress to develop a five-year plan for improving taxpayer service. The Taxpayer Assistance Blueprint (TAB) project was completed in two-phases. Phase one included preliminary research and Phase two provided recommendations on improvements.

Introduce Fishbone Diagram
Wayne introduced the process of using a fishbone diagram to outline the problems with the return preparation process.  Wayne suggested that the committee focus on People, Policies, Procedures, and Miscellaneous as the causes in the diagram.

Each member summarized his/her TAC visit findings.  Judi assisted in categorizing their findings.

As part of the fishbone diagram process, the committee reviewed a list of questions screeners use to determine if a customer qualifies for tax preparation assistance. 
ACTION: The committee will review the list to see if improvements can be made. 

End of the Meeting
Wayne briefed the committee on the discussion topics for Friday’s agenda.

Beth felt that the committee is doing great. The member’s observations have been accurate and she can’t wait to get the report.

Closing
Judi closed the meeting.

Friday, May 30, 2008

Program Owner
Beth Tucker
Michelle Jones, TAC Analyst
Peggy Sue Unander, TAC Supervisory Analyst

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

Member Absent
Regina White

Staff
Judi Nicholas, TAP Program Manager
Dave Coffman, TAP Program Analyst
Nina Pang, TAP Program Analyst
Marla Ofilas, TAP Secretary

Opening
Wayne opened the meeting and Judi made a few brief announcements. 

Review Individual Reports
Judi reviewed the fishbone diagram and restated the observations that were made. 

Beth reported that the TAC offices will no longer use cash conversion kiosks. During the pilot program, they found that an armored car service was needed to deposit the money into the Federal Reserve. In addition, the cost of renting the kiosk machines was $5,000 a month for each kiosk. 

Ann asked why a customer must present a Social Security card before getting his/her tax return prepared. Beth explained that the requirement is meant to prevent identity theft by validating the taxpayer’s Social Security number.

Review Procedures of Other Agencies/Industries
Dean researched the Social Security Administration’s process for accepting appointments from Social Security recipients. Dean reported that each region operates differently. Recipients use the Administration’s toll free number to schedule appointments. Their computer system verifies appointments and an auto-dialer program reminds recipients of their appointment. Appointments can be made from anywhere in the country and, after the appointment is made, a confirmation letter is sent to the recipient with a list of documents he/she must bring for the appointment.

Ed researched the State Department’s procedures for scheduling passport appointments. Ed found that the State Department has requirements that travelers must meet in order to schedule an appointment.  Once the appointment is made, a reminder is sent to the traveler, listing the required documents needed for the appointment and the methods of submitting payment. 

Ed also researched the appointment process for U.S. Embassies.  Appointments are scheduled through a web-based system and a fee is required. Using the system, a citizen is able to select a convenient appointment time.  The system will also show cancelled appointments, allowing citizens to make a same-day appointment.  Citizens are able to make appointments 30 to 60 days in advance.  After the appointment is made, an e-mail confirmation listing the documents needed for the interview is sent to the citizen. 

Jerry provided insight on how the private industry schedules appointments. Jerry explained that private industry purposely overbooks appointments to address no- shows. Add-ons are inserted into the schedule to compensate for the no-shows. 

Recommendations and Rationales
The committee brainstormed for potential improvements to the existing processes. They also discussed various rationales which can be used to support their recommendations for improvement. 

Wayne suggested that the committee work as three subcommittees to formalize the recommendations; with each subcommittee working recommendations that are similar or related. 
DECISION: The full committee agreed. Each member joined a subcommittee and a lead was chosen for each subcommittee.  The following subcommittees were formed:

• Tax Return Preparation Subcommittee – Ed (lead), Homer and Tommy
• Appointment Process Subcommittee – David (lead), Craig, Louise, and Dan
• Customer Screening Subcommittee – Bob (lead), Dean, Ann and Jerry

Judi asked the committee when they expect to complete the report.  Wayne felt that the goal is to have a final report by the end of November.  Subcommittee reports should be completed by the end of August. This would give the committee time to consolidate and review the report as a whole.

Return Preparation Demonstration
Two Denver TAC employees provided a demonstration of the software that’s used to prepare taxpayer returns. 

After the demonstration, the members felt that TAC employees should have the technology to scan a Form W-2.  The scan could populate all required fields in the computer’s tax preparation software program.  In addition, the members recommended that the Interactive Tax Law Assistant (ITLA) tool and the tax preparation software be combined to allow TAC employees the ability to answer tax law questions and prepare returns in one convenient program.  For example, Turbo Tax is a very interactive program which prepares returns using probing questions.   

Writing the Report and the Report Cover
Wayne provided a sample of a report cover. Wayne asked the members to e-mail their suggestions.
ACTION: Dave Coffman will e-mail last year’s TAC report cover to the members. In addition, members that feel creative will e-mail their suggestions to Wayne.

Judi recalled how the TAC committee conducted subcommittee business in the past. Each subcommittee met monthly at a designated time and day.  Dave Coffman was involved in each call.  During each full committee meeting, the subcommittees provided a brief report on the tasks they’ve completed. 
DECISION: The full committee agreed with the suggested process. Dave C. will e-mail potential dates to each of the subcommittees and arrange a conference call for all members to discuss their subcommittee activities, decide meeting times, etc. 

Wayne said that he expects each subcommittee to prepare their portion of the report, which will include recommendations and rationales. 

End of Day Announcements
There were no further announcements.

Closing
Judi closed the meeting.

Saturday, May 31, 2008

Program Owner
Michelle Jones, TAC Analyst
Peggy Sue Unander, TAC Supervisory Analyst

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

Member Absent
Regina White

Staff
Judi Nicholas, TAP Program Manager
Dave Coffman, TAP Program Analyst
Nina Pang, TAP Program Analyst
Marla Ofilas, TAP Secretary

Opening
Wayne opened the meeting.

Next Steps
Wayne discussed the “Style” guide which was modeled after the IRS style guide. Dave C. explained that the committee’s final report will be available to the public.  Because of this, acronyms should be kept to a minimum.  If any acronyms are used, they must be adequately explained. 

David M. asked if it would be okay to contact TAC managers if their subcommittee has questions or needs assistance. Michelle indicated that it would be okay; however, the contact must be facilitated by Dave Coffman.
ACTION: Members will e-mail Dave Coffman if they are interested in returning to their local TAC.

Closing
Wayne asked the members if they were comfortable with the report writing process. All agreed.

Wayne thanked everyone for their participation.

Judi closed the meeting.