Taxpayer Advocacy Panel
Vita Committee Minutes
May 21 -23, 2007

Sheraton Gunter
San Antonio, TX

Monday, May 21, 2007
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Wednesday, May23, 2007

Designated Federal Official:
Kayla Walker - Acting TAP Manager

Program Owner:
Billy Hubbard - Territory Manager, Stakeholder Partnerships, Education and Communication (SPEC), Communication, Assistance, Research, and Education (CARE)
Carol A Barnett - Director, Product & Partnership Development, SPEC, CARE
Libby Blair - Chief, Oversight and Analysis, SPEC Field Operations, CARE
Jeff Bledsoe - Chief, Individual Marketing Services
Nan Ellen Fuller - Acting Chief, Education and Product Development Staff, SPEC, CARE
Barbara Sowder - Project Manager, Process Based Training (PBT)

Committee Members Present:
Paul Brubaker - Pennsylvania
Patricia Bryant, Tennessee
Emilio Cecchi, Maryland
Laura Criel, New Mexico
Paul Duquette, Chair, Wisconsin
Harvey Epstein, New Hampshire
Harold Gadon, Rhode Island
Carolyn Hutchinson, North Carolina
Hank Mosler, Florida
Richard Rousseau, Vice-chair, Texas
Ferd Schneider, Ohio

Members Absent:
Sandra Bland, Minnesota
Elizabeth Colvin, Texas

TAP Staff:
Barbara Foley, Program Analyst
Patti Robb, Note Taker
John Fay, Senior Program Analyst

Billy Hubbard talked about the goals and expectations for the meeting:

1. Fulfill some of the Committee’s request regarding TaxWise.  Libby Blair has arranged for an analyst that liaisons with Universal Tax Systems (UTS) to join via conference call
2. Jeff Bledsoe and Libby Blair will talk about the Volunteer Return Preparation Program (VRPP)
3. Carol Barnett will talk about product and partner development 
4. Nan Ellen Fuller will talk about the training program
5. Barbara Sowder will talk about Process Based Training (PBT)

Leslye Baronich is unable to make it to this meeting.  Hubbard hoped the discussion would be very open and frank as they are during the Committee’s conference call and hopefully the committee will bring together the subcommittees’ recommendations by the end of this meeting. 

Kayla Walker is currently on a detail as Milwaukee Taxpayer Advocacy Panel (TAP) Manager.  The detail is scheduled to end mid-August.  She is currently a senior analyst in the Little Rock, Arkansas, Taxpayer Advocate Service office. 

John Fay reported that Bernie Coston and the managers spent the past week in Florida ranking the TAP applications.  381 applications were received to fill about 40 vacancies.  The quality of the applicants is very impressive.  Staff will make a concerted effort this year to emphasize that volunteering for the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel (TAP) is a very significant commitment and the 300 to 500 hours is a conservative time estimate.  Staff has planned to survey members who leave early as to why they are leaving.  When a vacancy occurs, if someone is already selected as an alternate and is still interested, they will be brought on.  It was suggested TAP make it mandatory to attend the orientation. 
ACTION:  TAP staff should inform potential member to check their spam or junk mail to allow IRS.gov extensions to go through.

With Hubbard retiring at the end of this month, it is a good time to talk about the expectations from the Program Owner for the VITA Committee and the ability of the committee to bring up issues that are outside the scope of the program owner’s focus.  The VITA Committee members are in a better position than the program owners to know what is happening in the field.  Ferd Schneider said that the VITA committee is unique in that most people who sit on this committee have spent time as tax counselors for the elderly and low income taxpayers and most times have more experience than many people in SPEC.  The Committee should continue to work on the focus provided by the Program Owner but also inform SPEC on issues happening in the field.

As VITA committee members what do we expect from the program owner? 

• An area committee works on issues where they have some experience.  The process takes years – whereas an issue committee is geared to the strategic plan
• Timely responses (feedback) on formal and informal recommendations
• There should be joint interest in the issues worked and the program owner should come in fully briefed and with a full understanding of what TAP can do for the IRS
• Tell the committee where program is headed, the top problems, and the vision for the program
• Two ways of looking at issues: those provided by the program owner and those brought from the field back to the program owner which could help IRS fix problems as they arise and prevent them from becoming major issues
• Fast track issues that have a national impact rather than a regional impact
• Do not take TAP recommendations as criticism of the program; they are meant to help improve the program
• Have the authority to implement recommendations
• Help committee members define national rather than regional issues
• Consideration of member’s commitment to filing season
• Provide vision of where the VITA  program is going – site volume; urban versus rural; tax/financial counseling versus return preparation; financial responsibility education; degree of support from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS); role of VRPP outside of filing season

Hubbard said there has been a big growth in the VITA Program.  The VRPP has three distinct customer bases, elderly, low-income and military, each heading in a different direction.  SPEC had been recruiting partners having an interest in assisting low income taxpayers.  In the last seven years, SPEC has tried a leveraging model for the partners to provide equipment and fund VITA sites.  The VITA program has seen the most growth.   The military is pulling away from volunteer prepared returns to promoting online self preparation.  The Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) sites are financed through grants and are striving to maintain their current level and number of volunteers.  IRS has done well in developing programs in metropolitan areas but is still looking at ways to bring the same services to rural areas.  The VRPP sites only provide tax return preparation and do not give financial advice.  That is left to the partners who provide counseling on asset development planning, provide banking services, run programs to help low income persons to buy a house and generally to help them into a financially stable environment.  IRS wants to partner with groups interested in bringing this type of financial literacy to low-income folks. 

SPEC has a team defining where the SPEC program is going and developing a new model.  If IRS goes to a multi-service partnership model, where would the military and TCE fall?   The team has come to the conclusion that TCE and the military program need to be kept separate and apart from the new model.  But, before IRS can advance the new model for the VITA program, it needs to get a handle on the quality initiative.

The new business model will develop a program around the baby boomers reaching the senior status, will still be committed to the military side, and will develop a program that emphasizes financial asset development in both rural and metropolitan areas.  IRS will build partnerships with those interested in building financial literacy—maintaining financial stability, managing a budget, avoiding loan and other financial scams, etc.  Epstein noted that there seems to be more joint TCE and VITA sites.  Hubbard replied that this is another way to leverage partnerships. 

IRS has had some new major funding initiatives, more partnerships for both urban and rural settings and an increase in the budget.  The increase in budget will help provide more staff support and hopefully more computers.  IRS currently has an inventory of 10,000 computers.
VITA members told Hubbard that another way both TCE and VITA sites need support is in recruiting volunteers for tax return preparation and for instructors.   

IRS will continue to improve the training materials which should reduce the burden on instructors but Hubbard said IRS is considering getting more involved in providing training.  More support will be added at the local level.  For example the El Paso office covers all of East Texas and with additional staff, IRS will be able to prove more assistance in training.  IRS also recognizes it needs to change its recruiting focus to find volunteers who have computer experience. 

Hubbard said IRS is trying to find ways to provide the same services to rural areas.  It is more difficult to find partners as rural areas do not have the same resources as urban areas.  SPEC wants the VITA Committee to bring some perspective to the IRS on increasing service to rural areas. 

Paul Brubaker said the goal is to get this information in a format to present to the program owner and asked for comments and suggestions on listed items.  The committee discussed the recommendations and the comments and suggested changes are in bold font.

COMMITTEE FOCUS
The Subcommittee is providing input concerning four (4) areas related to training and certification of volunteers of the VITA and TCE/AARP programs.  Our focus is to document those parts that we feel are working well as well as noting items that we feel need improvement.  Although Link and Learn is not considered a separate training material, we offer some suggestions concerning this process.

The four items addressed are:

1. Publications 678, Volunteer Student Guide, and Publication 678W, Comprehensive Problems and Exercises Workbook.
2.  Publication 4491, Process Based Training – Student Guide.
3. Forms 6744, Volunteer Assistor’s Guide – Test, and Form 6745, 2005 Retest, (also guidelines and answers – Pub 4189) – Publication 4012, VITA/TCE Resource Guide.

OVERALL
There is concern over the timely availability of, and the need for, improved accuracy and clarity of these materials
Most instructors are required to complete the test prior to the availability of a current year’s version of TaxWise. 
There have been numerous corrections to the printed materials in recent years.  It is difficult to communicate these corrections on a timely basis to instructors and volunteers. 
Has the IRS reviewed any training materials developed by outside sources?  Do they address quality reviews to ensure accuracy and if so how extensive are they? 
There needs to be more training on Form 1099-MISC, Miscellaneous Income, and allowable expenses since this is becoming a growing sector of our clients. 

1.  VOLUNTEER STUDENT GUIDE AND WORKBOOK (PUBLICATIONS 678 and 678W)

• Sequence of lessons did not follow sequence for completing Form 1040, U.S. Individual Income Tax Return
• Good use of examples and exercises
• Better suited for new volunteers (due to the number of examples and exercises) then returning volunteers
• Size is cumbersome.  Suggest move examples and exercises to 678W – this will allow transition of 678W to support Process Based Training as well as standard training
• Needs more varied versions of information reporting forms (Forms 1099-R, Distributions From Pensions, Annuities, Retirement or Profit-Sharing Plans, IRAs, Insurance Contracts, etc. and Forms W-2, Wage and Tax Statement
• Practice exercises need to reflect the types of taxpayer’s scenarios that are prevalent for VITA and TCE clients.  Add Military, intermediate, and basic.
• Publication 678 is getting too large; take practice exercises out and move to the 678W.

2.  PROCESSED BASED TRAINING GUIDE (PUBLICATION 4491)

• Follows sequence of Form 1040
• Integrates tax law learning with tax return preparation software
• Emphasizes integration of process to use interview sheet and quality review with tax preparation
• Lacks the depth of examples and exercises of Student Guide
• Need to either reference Workbook (Pub 678W) or develop replacement to utilize more examples in training
• Lacks lessons for Advanced, Military, and International certifications
• Suggest more references to the resources used and available on VITA sites, the Form 1040 Instruction booklet, Publication 17 and the Volunteer Resource Guide rather than duplicating the information
• Suggest TaxWise training concerning the use of Form 2210, Underpayment of Estimated Tax by individuals.  Specifically, there needs to be training on how to treat the form when it pops up and/or how to disable the form to let the IRS calculate the penalty if any is due

3.  VOLUNTEER ASSISTOR’S TEST AND RETEST (PUBLICATIONS 6744 and 6745)

• Support 80% certification level with all questions having equal value
• Support use of scenario based questions without compounding of answers
• Support questions that ensure volunteers use intake sheet, reference guide and quality review form*
• Need to provide enough forms to complete all test questions
• Because of timing of when instructors need to be certified, need to either allow early testing to use previous years software or provide availability of early version of current year’s version for certification also provide answers for both tax years
• Eliminate trick questions – examples (Q 5-6 concerning childcare paid to mother who was not eligible for SS number, Q 7-9 energy credit)
• Test to the basics – The test should be consistent from year to year and only test to the basic competencies.  This would avoid concerns over last minute congressional changes such as “extenders” in 2006 and items that have a limited life such as the Telephone Excise Tax and Residential Energy Credit for 2006.  These items should be addressed in training but do not need to be in the certification exam.
• Volunteer Resource Guide questions should not have a page number as an answer, instead ask for a specific piece of information.  For example, a question regarding the Child Tax Credit might be: which step of the “interview Tips for Child Tax Credit” in the 4012 asks the question, “Did the child provide over half of his or her own support for 2006?”

*(Intent of the test should be to make sure volunteers know where to get the answer.)

4.  VOLUNTEER RESOURCE GUIDE (PUB 4012)

• Guide needs to be streamlined – one suggestion is to let the guide be a  reference for tax law like it was in previous years and have a separate reference for computer software (TaxWise and TaxWise Online)

Brubaker sees resources being funneled away from the Publications 678 and 678W and toward PBT.  Ferd Schneider does not want the Publication 678 to go away although he thinks it needs improvement; it is simply getting too cumbersome to use.  There should be more training in tax law before learning how to input electronically and his site does not have the equipment available early enough to do the PBT.  Most agreed Link & Learn is a valuable resource for those who cannot attend the formal training but it is difficult to use in some rural areas having only dial-up service. 

Harvey Epstein thinks the 80 percent certification is too high for new volunteers, but returning volunteers should be held to the 80 percent certification.  Volunteers continue to learn on site and errors are caught through quality review.  Bryant said Certified Public Accountants) are certified at 70 percent.  Why are volunteers held to 80 percent?  She lost one returning volunteer because they didn’t pass the test.  Duquette surveyed volunteers to see if they thought 80 percent was too high and not one of them said yes.  Brubaker didn’t lose anyone even though some people did fail the first test.  More returning members failed the first attempt because they were used to the old testing process. 

Carol Barnett is Director, Product and Partnership Development.  She introduced the IRS staff.  Barnett said before joining SPEC, she was Director for the Human Capital office.

Libby Blair thanked all volunteers for their hard work during the filing season.  She gave an overview of the filing season statistics: 
Returns Prepared:  2.53 million (which surpassed the IRS goal of 2.3 million)
E-File rate:  87.4%
1040 EZ TETR returns : 90,678 (Telephone Excise Tax Return)
37% E-filed
Zero AGI (Adjusted Gross Income) returns e-filed:  75,086 (this allowed filing of TETR returns as well as state returns electronically)
ITIN E-filed:  15,025 (Individual Taxpayer Identification Number)
Split Refunds:  1,471
Direct Deposit:  44%
PIN use75% (Personal Identification Number)

The use of PINs to electronically sign returns has increased.  In its report, The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) recommended that the Form 8453, Individual Income Tax Declaration for an IRS e-file Return, be eliminated or used only when necessary.  SPEC considers the VRPP as having a great year quality-wise.  The SPEC goal for quality this year was 55 percent and the quality rate is 56.4 percent.  Both TIGTA and SPEC quality reviews showed that the sites having problems are not using the quality review process, mainly not using the intake sheet properly.  Blair was asked if the TIGTA report could be shared with the committee.  The TIGTA report will be provided when it is published probably sometime in July.   

The SPEC quality review measured more than TIGTA but covered only VITA and TCE sites.  SPEC did not do Military sites since the SPEC personnel could not get on base anonymously.  SPEC plans to do more reviews next year and include both TCE and Military criteria.  SPEC found that the use of the intake sheet is crucial to getting returns correct.  And, if the sites had done the designated quality review, the errors would have been caught.  The quality review process starts with the intake sheet and the interview of the taxpayer to ensure the information is correct, then the preparation of the return, and last, the designated quality review preferably by another person.  The intake sheet is intended to be a memory jogger to ensure information is not missed; it is designed as a tool.  Over 3,200 returns at 1,100 sites were reviewed this year.  Next year, SPEC will be doing more discretionary reviews rather than the mandated ones done this year. 

Hank Mosler asked if there was a quality review process for paid preparers.  Blair replied that it was outside of the realm of TIGTA or SPEC but the General Accounting Office does review and found that most often it was the Earned Income Tax Credit that was figured incorrectly.  SPEC can generate reports on the errors for a particular site.  Territory managers in your area can provide this information.  Brubaker said getting this data back down to the sites is important; it can indicate the specific issues causing the errors which the sites can then correct. 
ACTION:  Foley will send the TIGTA report to committee members after it is released. 

Publication 4491, Process Based Training, is not available online because it has TaxWise screen shots which might be construed as an endorsement of the product by the IRS.  IRS is trying some creative solutions to include tax return preparation information in the publication.

Nan Ellen Fuller said IRS is also looking at ways to use the software along with Link & Learn.  Barnett said it is not acceptable that the online training does not match the book and/or classroom training.  SPEC will find a way to integrate; it may take years but eventually it will get there in a way that follows the law and the rules.  One solution is that IRS develops its own software; however, this may not prove possible as it could be construed as competing with private enterprise.

Barbara Sowder noted the PBT pilot test showed the training needed some tweaking but was essentially a good product.  The pilot will be expanded next year and SPEC will do more quality reviews of the sites.  This year, there were five quality review shopping trips at PBT sites and the results showed the quality was higher.

For next year, the PBT team is working on adding the advanced and military portions.  The team also worked to remove all duplications in the material from the Publications 4012 and 17 and instead referring the volunteer to the publications.  

Barnett said the IRS will need to do marketing of PBT before eliminating the Publication 678 with its partners as well as internally since some people want to continue with the way it has always been done.  TAP has already experienced the resistance from members not on the VITA Committee but the TAP definitely endorses the new training method. 

Sowder said SPEC has looked at the issues raised by the VITA Committee but not all are doable.   Some are out of the scope of the volunteer program.  Nan Ellen Fuller said SPEC will continue to ask TAP to provide specific feedback on PBT and is looking for TAP to provide feedback on the facilitator’s guide.  Sowder asked for volunteers to help develop the guide; there should not be any travel involved. 
DECISION:  A sub committee was formed to work on the PBT facilitator’s guide Carol Hutchinson is chair; Emilio Cecchi, Pat Bryant, Laura Criel and Paul Brubaker are members.
ACTION:  Foley will send the team members contact information to Nan Ellen Fuller. 

Jeff Bledsoe, Chief, Individual Marketing Service, said one of the main things his office does is liaison with the office that promotes and monitors electronic filing.  Last year only 44 percent used the electronic PIN as the signature method; this year, it was at 75 percent.  This is a 400 percent increase in the use of electronic PINs to sign the electronically-filed tax return.  Also, IRS saw a significant decrease in rejects and a significant increase in direct deposit.  IRS is now looking at mandating the PIN signature method and having a form process that will work around the exceptions. 

Duquette asked what discussions have gone on about volunteer sites maintaining paper records for three years.  Bledsoe replied that IRS has determined that the volunteer sites are required to maintain the records but is looking at ways the sites can ship forms to centralized files. 

Fuller gave an update of teams forming this year where VITA Committee members have a role:

1. Publication 678W comprehensive exercise team met last week.  Ferd Schneider is on this team
2. The test team does not anticipate significant changes this year.  Laura Criel and Rick Rousseau will assist the team. 
3. The Publications 3189 and 4012 team is Pat Bryant and Paul Brubaker
4. The members for the Process Based Team have yet to be identified.

In the past, IRS allowed partners to develop their own test.  Last year nine partners submitted tests and were told it may be the last year.  This year SPEC provided the proposed test to its partners and asked for feedback.  With the emphasis on quality, IRS felt it needed more control over the test and answer key.  SPEC would like volunteers to review the PBT lessons.
DECISION:  A subcommittee was formed to assist IRS in reviewing the PBT lessons.  Carolyn Hutchinson is chair; Emilio Cecchi, Paul Brubaker, Laura Criel, Paul Duquette and Pat Bryant are members. 

Publication 678 FS, Foreign Student and Scholar Volunteer Student Guide, and the 678 PR, 2005 Puerto Rico Supplement, are currently available only in paper versions but will be part of Link & Learn this year.  Link & Learn will be available on CD in November this year too.  The only down side to offering the CD is they are not easily changed or updated.  The Publication 4480, Link & Learn Taxes Kit, can still be ordered in bulk by instructors and this year a notice when Link & Learn starts up informs the user that the Publication 4480 should be ordered.

Hal Gadon asked if anyone had experience using the TaxWise University.  Hubbard said he found it extraordinarily time consuming and it covered areas that did not apply to VITA.  Brubaker said he attended the TaxWise training which was a three day course and felt he got two hours of excellent information.  Bryant also attended the training and felt too much time was spent on TaxWise online. 

Ferd Schneider asked why AARP TCE volunteers can not be certified using the Link & Learn test.  Blair replied that AARP is the IRS’ largest partner and had developed their own processes and products prior to SPEC being formed.  IRS does not want to add burden to partners by dictating to them.  Sowder said one of the things that makes SPEC so unusual is they are asking people to work with them and not making demands.  Brubaker said the teams working on the SPEC projects have a chance to really interact and influence SPEC’s partners. 

Another problem with using the Link & Learn certification test is that if you miss a question but still pass the test, the system does not tell where the error occurred.  It only provides the information when the test is failed. 

Link & Learn observations and recommendations

• The Link & Learn system is self paced and allows each student to progress at their own rate which is an important aspect of the Link & Learn system design.
• The certification test currently needs to be taken in one sitting.  It is not possible to take part of the test one day and then continue at a later time.  TAP recommends the design of the Link & Learn test system be modified to permit students to take the test in several different sessions.  This modification is important to students who cannot dedicate a single block of time to the online testing.  TAP understands that IRS is prohibited from placing cookies on the user’s system which prevents this feature and supports the IRS in investigating having Link & Learn hosted on a non IRS site so volunteers would be able to establish a user name and password and do sections of the training and test at different times.
• TAP recommends blank forms, tax tables and EITC tables be provided through the site to expedite the use of the system.
• Is there any vision in the future to consider calculation within the system?   Fuller said they are hoping to integrated software into Link & Learn.  However, it is difficult as IRS cannot use TaxWise screen shots as Link & Learn is on the public domain and IRS cannot appear to endorse a commercial product. 
• The certification test should be available in two versions for those who would like to take it earlier.  IRS should consider having answers for the previous and current tax years.  Volunteers need to be certified for the current tax year and this could mean that volunteers would need to take the test twice.  This is a problem IRS struggles with as often there are tax law changes as late as December also it is not possible to certify everyone in every aspect of the tax law.  There needs to be some balance. 
• TAP recommends that students be able to take the test twice electronically and then be required to retest on paper.  This allows the instructor to easily find where the errors occurred.  

Bruce Foster joined the meeting via conference call.  He is currently acting as the liaison to UTS.  Foster addressed the major adjustments planned for the next year.  The technical issue which caused the system to be unavailable toward the end of the filing season was identified; a correction was made to the database and a backup system put in place to prevent the same type of problem from occurring in the future.   

Last year, there were some problems when updates were issued; the Committee suggested TaxWise thoroughly test updates before issuing.  It was suggested that updates be rolled out to a relatively small group prior to the mass roll out to catch any problems.  Foster responded that generally upgrades are related to tax law changes, expanded capability of who can file electronically, or to correct software problems.  The amount of testing is dependent on the urgency of the upgrade.

If UTS does independent testing before the product goes out next season, the Committee suggested the beta testing include VITA and TCE members.  Foster will bring this to UTS’ attention. 

Both the 2006 and 2007 versions of TaxWise are compatible with the VISTA operating system and UTS does not foresee problems with capability.

Hal Gadon asked how to disengage the Form 2210, Underpayment of Estimated Tax by Individuals, Estates and Trusts from calculating automatically.  Foster did not know but will find out. 

Mosler asked what approach IRS used to test the software.  Foster replied that the test program is similar to Link & Learn but it is not all inclusive.  IRS depends on the contractor to test and ensure the software is running within the correct parameters. 

Epstein said TaxWise is problematic with printers and the software will not recognize printers that are installed using Plug and Play.  Printers have to be deleted and manually installed.  The printer works with any other application on the system outside of TaxWise but not within.  This causes a major problem with shared printers using a parallel switch.  The software will not recognize the printers unless the system is rebooted or the computer is wired directly to the printer which is very cumbersome.  It was mentioned that this problem can be worked around by creating an adobe print file which then can be sent to the printer outside of TaxWise.  Foster will work with UTS on this problem.

Brubaker said he likes the auto-fill feature 90 percent of the time.  However, he has found a particular problem with routing transit numbers.  After entering one and going to a new field where a zero is required, the system insists on automatically filling the field with the routing transit number even when you try to use back space to delete the number and reenter.  You are forced to enter a dummy number and then use the backspace key to correct.  There should be a stack of data related to each field.  That is, when you are in a city field, the auto fill choices should be names of cities previously entered in that field and not all alpha fields available. 

Hubbard said he was asked about wireless and the IRS policy.  What is the TaxWise policy about this?  Foster said we cannot prohibit it but we discourage it as we cannot be sure the person who set up the network made sure it was secure.

Duquette asked if there is any movement by TaxWise to allow a version of TaxWise to be used when the high speed connection is not available.  Trying to do tax returns on line over dial up would be too slow.  Foster replied that the online and desktop versions were two very different systems and does not know that there will be that offline capability. 

Another problem Duquette found with TaxWise online is you cannot carry information from one year to the next.  Foster will bring this issue to UTS.  Brubaker said their SPEC wants all the sites to use TaxWise online.  If you want people to switch to TaxWise online, it needs to have all the features of the desktop version, what is the plan to mature?  One difference is the inability to print a portion of the return in the online version.  Brubaker said the horror here is if you review the return and see a minor error such as, transposed letters in a name, that does not change the calculations, you have to print the whole return; you can not print the current page.  Foster said UTS is aware of that problem and is working to improve the online version and make it parallel to the desktop version.  Other problems are fewer drop-down box entries available and you have to manually enter all the information.  There are some good features for the online version but for now Brubaker prefers the desktop version. 

Schneider has found problems on some of the fields that will not accept a zero; one is when you have minimal wages and the amount of withholding is zero and another example is when the capital gain or loss is zero.  He had to enter a dollar to file the return.  He does not suggest UTS allow the field to be blank since that is an indicator that the field was just missed but a zero manual entry should be allowed.

Brubaker had a problem with addresses are carried forward they are in red and you can only remove the red by retyping the same information. 

TaxWise will now encrypt both prior year and current year data.  TaxWise has moved away from using the Social Security Number (SSN) to name the returns.  The system will now generate names randomly to store the files.  Last year, the system allowed users to enter a file name and not use the SSN. 

The concern is that having the random file names would make it more difficult to select returns for transmitting or printing unless you use the wide filter capability.  He also suggested allowing the wide filter for restoring returns.  Foster will talk to UTS about this. 
ACTION:  A subcommittee was formed to write-up the TaxWise testing proposal and present it to the full committee.  Mosler is the Chair and Brubaker and Epstein will assist.

Duquette said IRS needs to make it simpler and easier to file electronically.  More information is required on an electronic return than a paper return.  He prepared a return for a student who had six Forms W-2 and only made $4,000.  It took an hour to do the return; it would have been much quicker to do a paper return.  Criel said if the information reporting forms were standardized, they could be scanned.  It is not necessary to provide as much data for a Form in the 1099 series but that is because the reporting forms go to the IRS; whereas, the Forms W-2 are filed with the Social Security Administration and IRS does not have access to the information until mid-summer. 
Barbara Sowder said if an auditor pulls a paper return for review, copies of the reporting forms are attached.  But, there would be nothing with the electronic return except for what is entered into the system.  Jeff Bledsoe will take this issue to submission processing for their input. 

Subcommittee Report Outs
VITA Branding Recommendations

Committee Focus
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) provides equipment, software, and training materials.  The IRS sets the standards for volunteer certification and program operations.  The IRS needs to increase the visibility and promote the credibility of the free tax preparation program.

What Was Learned So Far

1. The IRS needs to increase advertising and promoting to the public as it does with e-filing
2. Volunteer tax preparers are held to high standards, IRS certified, and undergo regular quality review requirements. 
3. The IRS wants to reduce or eliminate the tax preparation services offered by the Taxpayer Assistance Centers (TAC).  As the TAC offices reduce their role in tax preparation, the IRS must play an active role in helping VITA reach the taxpayers previously served by the TAC office.

Recommendations

1. The IRS should increase the visibility and promote the credibility of free tax preparation.
2. Create customizable Public Service Announcements (PSA) for local VITA groups to use on television and radio
3. Integrate VITA information into existing IRS material in a visible way (for example: an ad for VITA on the back page of the Instructions for Form 1040 and the Form 1040A,
4. Include information about VITA in mailings to clients who call the IRS and request forms be mailed to them
5. Include information about VITA with the press releases, e-file messaging and advertising the IRS currently does
6. Conduct mailings to specific target groups such as Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) recipients
7. Make information about free assistance from VITA more visible and easily accessible on the homepage of IRS.gov
8. Have a poster in each site noting the volunteer who is preparing “your” return has been trained in current tax law and has been certified as competent to prepare the return by successfully completing a test designed by the IRS
9. As people call the IRS and are on hold, have a message about VITA inserted into the hold music
10. Update and widely distribute Publication 3676A, VITA E-file Poster
11. Partner with other government agencies that work with low-income families to include information about VITA in their mailings
12. Solicit support of National Taxpayer Advocate (NTA) and Local Taxpayer Advocates (LTA) to promote/endorse VITA and TCE during their outreach efforts
13. IRS should be sharing available promotional products with partners
14. Produce camera-ready products that can be placed in various types of media; these should be available for downloading
15. Create a smaller (bi-fold, business envelope size) write-up / brochure, which we could mail out and leave / distribute in public service announcement type places (community buildings, libraries, public buildings) to promote VITA
16. TAP endorses soliciting neighborhood leaders to promote VITA and recommends additional efforts be put into identifying rural partners

Fuller will send a copy of the SPEC products to Kayla Walker, acting TAP Manager who will forward to the Branding committee members.   The Committee will review the available materials and make suggestions for improving them.

e-file Subcommittee
Pat Bryant reported that the committee refined the list of recommendations on e-file that they will present to the Joint Committee soon.  SPEC wanted to get feedback on encouraging volunteers to file electronically rather than on paper and asked subcommittee why volunteers were resistant to electronic filing.  The subcommittee members’ sites all filed electronically for the vast majority of returns and were not able to provide assistance to IRS on this topic.  The subcommittee refined their list of recommendations and will present to full committee at the next meeting.

The Committee brainstormed these ideas for non-participation in e-file:

• Lack of Electronic Return Originators; many are not willing to accept additional responsibilities or to volunteer the extra time
• Not enough computers so some counselors use paper
• Volunteers refuse to use computers
• Lack of storage space so volunteers need to bring all the equipment, set up at the temporary site and then break down some volunteers are not willing to carry printers
• Closing sites to decrease paper filing is not acceptable; move forward by recruiting new volunteers who are committed to electronic filing
• The recruitment message must say you need computer skills
• E-filing should be made top priority because it increases accuracy

Miscellaneous Issues

Link & Learn
Link & Learn is available the full year; next year’s version will be available November 1.

Reporting Forms Inconsistencies
Brubaker said in his experience preparing returns, the biggest impact on return preparation is the non-standardization of forms.  It can impact every aspect of tax preparation, whether volunteer or paid return preparation.  It is also confusing to taxpayers.  He has examples of the differences and varieties used and is working on a five year strategy for standardizing the forms.

Duquette was concerned that the VITA Committee would spend a good deal of time working the issue but then where would it go?  The issue committee does not have any way to send recommendations up except to our own program owner.  This should be referred to an area committee to elevate.  He will bring this up at the Joint Committee meeting to see which area should work on the issue.  Schneider agreed that referring the issue to an area committee was the proper thing to do but suggested the VITA committee write a position paper supporting the area recommendation based on it being a problem with VITA training and has an impact on all the volunteers preparing returns.  Area 2 already has a subcommittee working this issue and already has three recommendations and it seems they each will go to different owners.  Foley suggested leaving the Form W-2 alone as they are a Social Security Administration form. 

Practitioner PIN
Gadon said SPEC is about 99 percent there.  He has heard that around June 1 there may be some very important information coming out regarding Form 8453.  The next step is to eliminate the self select PIN option.  There is no reason for the volunteers to use it and eliminating it would result in a great cost savings. 

Jeff Bledsoe suggested tackling one issue at a time.  He thanked everyone for all their help in making this work. 

Penalty for Underpayment of Tax
There is a problem with the software automatically calculating a penalty and can volunteers trust the penalty calculation as accurate.  Volunteers are not trained on computing the Underpayment of Tax penalty.  Foley said you cannot use the calculation that comes up from TaxWise as it may not be right.  There are a whole slew of reasons why it may not be accurate and completing the Form 2210, Underpayment of Estimated Tax by Individuals, Estates and Trusts, is out of scope for volunteers.  Duquette suggested a box to check for having IRS calculate the penalty.  However, the taxpayer needs to be warned that they might be penalized and what they need to do if they receive a letter from the IRS.  Volunteers need to know how to handle the Form 2210.  Blair assured the Committee that SPEC will provide direction on handling the form 2210 in next year’s training and reference material. 

Committee Members’ Concerns/Suggestions/Issues
Brubaker said he heard there is an internet site to help some one determine if they needed to file an income tax return or not.  Here is a link to the site on IRS.gov http://www.irs.gov/individuals/article/0,,id=96623,00.html

Rousseau said he is pleasantly surprised at the difference in an issue committee and area meeting.  The area committee does the outreach and gets input, but the issue committee really is the citizen providing the information to the IRS.  Information was certainly flowing between members and program owners and eyes were opened on both sides during this meeting.  It has been a very enlightening meeting.  It worked well; the Committee produced some good products but still has a lot of work to do. 

Schneider said this committee is unique.  Things we work on in this committee are personal and very relevant to each of the members because they deal with the issues every year as volunteers.  We need to recognize that this committee should get some leeway in recommending grass roots issues up. 

Gadon thanked Hubbard for all his guidance.
 
Bryant said there was a suggestion that the VITA committee not meet on a monthly basis during the filing season.  This seemed to be agreeable to staff, committee members, and program owners.  Duquette felt this decision should be deferred to December when there are new members.  Rousseau felt the committee should still meet but it could be more of an organizational meeting.

Duquette said to remember that there will always be situations coming up where someone can not attend the meeting.  This committee always had a quorum which is important for continuity. 

Brubaker said if we had not worked all year long, the Committee would not have accomplished this much. 

Closing
Next meeting June 19, 2007

Decisions:

• A sub committee was formed to work on the PBT facilitator’s guide Carol Hutchinson is chair; Emilio Cecchi, Pat Bryant, Laura Criel and Paul Duquette are members.
• A subcommittee was formed to assist IRS in reviewing the PBT lessons.  Carolyn Hutchinson is chair; Emilio Cecchi, Paul Brubaker, Laura Criel, Paul Duquette and Pat Bryant are members. 

Actions:
Foley

• Send the TIGTA report to committee members after it is released. 
• Send the team members contact information to Nan Ellen Fuller. 

Mosler, Brubaker and Epstein

• A subcommittee was formed to write-up the TaxWise testing proposal and present it to the full committee.  Mosler is the Chair and Brubaker and Epstein will assist.

TAP staff

• Inform potential member to check their spam or junk mail to allow IRS.gov extensions to go through.

Uncompleted Action Items from Previous Meetings: None