Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Committee Meeting
Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill
December 13, 2006
8 am to Noon

Designated Federal Official
Sandy McQuin, TAP Manager

Program Owner:
Billy Hubbard, Territory Manager, Stakeholder Partnerships, Education and Communication (SPEC)

Members Present:
Sandra Bland, Minnesota
Paul Brubaker, Pennsylvania
Patricia Bryant, Tennessee
Emilio Cecchi, Panel Member
Elizabeth Colvin, Texas
Laura Criel, New Mexico
Harvey Epstein, New Hampshire
Harold Gadon, Rhode Island
Hank Mosler, Florida
Richard Rousseau, Texas
Ferd Schneider, Ohio

Committee Members Absent
Paul Duquette, Wisconsin
Carolyn Hutchinson, North Carolina
Donna Tremblay, Georgia

TAP Staff
Barbara Toy, Program Analyst
Patti Robb, Secretary

Objectives of Meeting / Introductions
As a review, remember Issue Committees operate top-down with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) providing focus and bringing the issues to the Committee.  An issue committee works directly with the IRS employees charged with the responsibility for directing a particular program (program owners).

The members introduced themselves and told the number of years they were involved in either Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) or Tax counseling for the Elderly (TCE).  The combined experience of the members present at the meeting is 86.5 years.

Issue Flow for Top Down Issue Committee
The issue is presented to the committee by the PO.  The committee assigns the issue to a subcommittee.  The subcommittee works the issue and brings their findings back to the whole committee.  If the committee approves, the recommendation goes to the PO.  If the full committee is not in agreement, it goes back to the subcommittee for revision.  A summary of the recommendation goes into the monthly committee report to keep the Joint Committee informed of the committee’s activities and to ensure the committee’s efforts are in the annual report.

Report on 2006 VITA Committee Activities
Throughout the year, panel members have been involved with the development or review of numerous products and processes. 

Form 13614, Intake and Interview Sheet
The IRS requires this sheet or a similar form be done for each return prepared at a volunteer site.  The Treasury Inspector General of Tax Administration (TIGTA) and the IRS send out “shoppers” to volunteer sites to check that returns are completed accurately.  IRS has found that using the intake and interview sheet properly increases the accuracy of tax returns.  Last year, the VITA Committee provided input on improving the form and IRS made revisions to the form based on the input.

Form 8158, Quality Review Checklist
The Quality Review Checklist is used in conjunction with the intake sheet to ensure quality returns.

Publication 678 and 678W, Volunteer Student Guide and Workbook
The VITA Committee worked on Publication 678W, Workbook Comprehensive Problems and Practice Exercises.  The shelf life of the Publication 678, Volunteer Student Guide, is about three weeks so it is not particularly helpful.  The Committee suggested IRS look at the process based training guide and put more emphasis on improving rather than the Publication 678.  Hank Mosler and Paul Duquette worked on a special project along with representatives from AARP on improving this guide and workbook earlier in 2006

Publication 4491, Process Based Training Guide
This was one of the VITA Committee’s main issues.  Process Based Training (PBT) integrates the use of the intake and interview sheet, using tax preparation software and tax law.  The IRS presented a draft of the guide and the committee made suggestions for improvement.  The VITA Committee recommended that IRS replace the publication 678 with the PBT Guide. 

Elizabeth Colvin, Paul Brubaker and Schneider attended the PBT train the trainer session and Colvin and Brubaker will be part of the pilot for testing PBT.  Colvin and Brubaker will report later in the year to the committee on the results of using PBT to train volunteers

Colvin stated that if it is IRS’ goal Link & Learn to replace classroom training, it must be fully integrated using tax preparation software.

Development of Volunteer Certification and Testing Products as well as Procedures
Colvin and Brubaker also worked on the developing the volunteer certification guidelines and the new test.  They gave input to the IRS for the beta testing and Colvin spent a very long weekend rewriting some of the components and putting in the correct format for the final version.  The team worked to eliminate some of the problems with the old test one of which was the error compounding caused by using comprehensive problems in the test.  The team felt the current test is good because it tests for competency of the volunteer in preparing quality tax returns rather than just testing for tax law knowledge.  The team was very pleased that IRS let them completely rework the test.  The old test had a very cumbersome test-scoring sheet and each question had a weight assigned.  For this new test, each question is worth one point.  To help the team develop the new test, Catherine Harvey, Stakeholder, Partnership, Education and Communication (SPEC) Specialist, brought in a professor who explained the philosophy of testing.  Brubaker commended the IRS for bringing in an educator to look at the test.  Mosler felt the change to the test is a great step forward, but there are other areas of VITA that need help.

Issue Committee Owner Shares Issue Focus and Goals
Billy Hubbard was asked last week to take over as PO on this committee.  Libby Blair, Director, Oversight and Analysis for SPEC Field Operations suggested three topics:

1. Electronic filing
2. SPEC business model
3. Quality initiative, Lean Six Sigma which means applying specific quality process tools to improve volunteer return preparation statistics.

Hubbard rejected the quality initiative because it would require a significant amount of participation and is very statistically orientated and in his opinion is not the best use of a TAP Committee.  He also acknowledged that the committee’s interest in being involved in the training products development and testing and would like to keep it on the list.  IRS is just started to move toward a more customer-orientated approach to providing training but there is still some resistance to leaving the old training methods behind so the IRS will continue to need the committee’s involvement.  There will be a new leader coming into the training section; Elaine Beck, Chief, Education and Product Development Staff is leaving.  The new manager has not been named.

Electronic filing reached 82.6 percent this past year.  Most military bases are over 95 per cent.  SPEC has other major partners who are exclusively electronic filers.  SPEC partners are experiencing some issues with electronic filing—not keeping technology current, the skill level of the volunteer pool, and how to recruit volunteers with the skills sets needed.  IRS would like TAP’s help in increasing the number of returns filed electronically in the volunteer program, especially in the rural markets, as well as improving the electronic filing process for volunteer return preparation. 

SPEC is taking a new look at the business model and see where it is now and where IRS needs to be.  The basic premise when SPEC started to grow the program with leveraged partnerships was to increase the volume of returns prepared through the volunteer program.  The program now targets three groups:  seniors through TCE, the military and the VITA program which targets low income.  IRS is now moving towards not only preparing quality tax returns but leveraging the partnerships into better quality of life for the targeted groups.  The current business plan targets only one goal, more returns and now SPEC needs to take a look at its partners’ needs as well as the needs of the targeted groups.  The current business model treats all partners generically, but the military has completely different needs than other partners.  The Military is spending a tremendous amount of resources on the VITA program but is moving toward spending fewer resources.  One way the Military Is saving on resources is by their promotion of the use of the FreeFile site.  The AARP TCE program gets funding from the IRS through grants and some VITA sites get grant money while others are funded by SPEC’s partners.  Colvin said she spends six months of the year raising money and applying for grants for the VITA program.  One of the recommendations TAP made to the Commissioner was that IRS should fund VITA.  Brubaker noted that some VITA sites have extra resources and some don’t have enough and said there ought to be a way to balance out the resources.

Mosler asked if there was a role for this committee to play in FreeFile.  Hubbard replied that FreeFile is not something the IRS goes out of their way to promote and he does not think VITA will bring FreeFile into their program.  Harvey Epstein added that he is aware of a university in his area that has developed a program to teach people to prepare their own returns using FreeFile.  Mosler also sees a role for volunteers in teaching people to do their own returns.  Hubbard said this would be a good opportunity to work with Jeff Bledsoe, SPEC Specialist working on the model and defining the scope of the program.  Hubbard also suggested any recommendations regarding the use of FreeFile be addressed through the Efiling subcommittee.

Colvin raised the issue of the branding of the VITA program.  Some taxpayers would rather go to a paid preparer rather than a VITA site because of the perception that if VITA is free, it is of lesser quality.  There is a perception among low income and undocumented workers that volunteers lack professionalism and would not protect their confidentiality.  Many VITA sites have enough resources to prepare more returns but lack customers.  The IRS needs to support the VITA sites and legitimize them as they do not provide a lesser product and they have certified volunteers.  Paid preparers do not have any certification standards nor are they required to have a quality review process.  Many volunteer sites have 100 percent quality review policy.  IRS needs to help market VITA.  Laura Criel pointed out the other side, there are some VITA sites that are overloaded and do not have the resources to complete more returns, they need help from IRS in recruiting more volunteers and obtaining other necessary resources.  Hubbard replied that that he agreed branding is an issue the VITA Committee should take a look at and felt it could easily fit under the Business Model subcommittee umbrella.

Committee would like to stay involved in giving feedback on the training process and materials.  Hubbard agreed and said he would talk to the new chief of the Education and Product Development branch to arrange.  There will be a subcommittee formed for Training materials, however, it will operate on an as needed by program owner basis.

Discussion and Identification of Subcommittee Members
Efile Subcommittee
Members are:  Hal Gadon, Sandra Bland, Pat Bryant (lead), Ferd Schneider and Harvey Epstein
DECISION:  The Efile Subcommittee set meeting times for the second Thursday of each month at 11:30 a.m. ET

SPEC business model which includes branding
Members are:  Elizabeth Colvin (lead), Rick Rousseau, Hank Mosler, Laura Criel, Paul Brubaker and Emilio Cecchi

Training materials (process)
Members are:  Elizabeth Colvin, Pat Bryant, Laura Criel, Paul Brubaker (lead) and Harvey Epstein
ACTION:  Staff needs to assign Carol Hutchinson and Donna Tremblay to a subcommittee.

Committee Chair/Vice-chair
DECISION:  Duquette was voted as chair by consensus; Rousseau voted as vice-chair by consensus.

Closing

Next Meeting:  February 6, 2007 at 12 Noon ET