Date: June 10, 1999

Time: 6:00-9:30 PM

Location: CAP Office: 10 Metrotech Center
                   625 Fulton St. 6th Floor
                   Brooklyn, NY 11201

Jim Montes, Chairperson

Horace Aikens

Tony Fandozzi

Laura Greenberg

Burton Kahn

Kristen Bailey, DFO

Marjorie Louer

Ed Maher

Matthew Mihovich

Ethel Richards

John Rotondi

IRS Staff Attending

Ellen Murphy, District Director

Kevin McKeon, CAP Manager

Louis Morizio, CAP Analyst

Lynn Sexton, CAP Analyst

Leonides Rivera, CAP Secretary

Absentees

Marie Nahikian, Vice Chairperson

None

None

Chairperson called the meeting to order and he then asked the panel if there were any changes or corrections to the minutes from the previous meeting. Panel member Fandozzi questioned the sentence on page 6 regarding the spousal package for the upcoming National Conference. He wanted to know why Booz-Allen did not know about this and he really would like to have such a program. Chairperson read through it and felt there was no need to change that sentence. However, he will ask the chairpersons of the other CAPs if they are aware of any activities for the spouses. Panel member Richards asked about a dress code at the conference. Chairperson informed her that the panel should wear business attire the first day, and business casual attire for the remainder of the conference. The following changes were made to the minutes:

A. Last Paragraph (page 7) ". . .CAP team will secure a location."

B. Fifth Paragraph (page 3) ". . .a few weeks ago at the Practitioners Liaison Committee Meeting held at Adelphi University."

A motion to approve the minutes was then made by panel member Kahn and agreed to by the entire panel. The meeting was then turned over to the Chairperson.

Reports of the Working Committees

Letter of Introduction

Chairperson tabled the discussion regarding CAP Introduction Letters since the Vice-Chairperson was absent from the meeting.

Outreaches

A. Individuals - Panel member Richards passed out copies of her letter of introduction to community-based organizations (CBO) and churches. The names of CBO's have been submitted and the CAP staff will start to send out the letters.

The panel reviewed Richards' letter (copy attached) and made a correction to a typographical error and added "Very Truly Yours," to end the letter. Once these errors are corrected, the letter can be sent out. The panel will allow the CAP staff to sign the letters for the panel members.

B. Practitioners - Panel member Rotondi shared a letter (copy attached) he prepared to send out to practitioners, which will not overlap the letter being prepared by the Vice-Chairperson since her letter is for elected officials. Panel member Greenberg noticed a typographical error in the last line that needs to be corrected. Once corrected, the letter with one package of bookmarks will be sent out to the larger practitioners. Until the new shipment of bookmarks is received, panel members will use the Rolodex cards.

Rotondi has already sent letters to the Nassau and Suffolk NYSSCPA Chapters. Chairperson inquired about the Brooklyn/Queens chapters and was told by Greenberg that there are no chapters in those counties, just New York. Chairperson then inquired about the American Bar Association and the local county chapters. Greenberg already contacted the Washington office that will forward the information to the New York offices. Meanwhile, the Chairperson will get the addresses of the Nassau/Suffolk chapters and Rotondi will follow-up.

Chairperson wants the panel to compile a list of 5-10 practitioners' names to establish a mailing list. The names should be faxed to panel member Rotondi who will then send them to the staff for mailing.

Website

Panel member Maher discussed the unveiling of the Website at the National Conference and its continuing construction. The subcommittee decided to include the minutes on the condition that they have their own page and menus so people can access a specific meeting's minutes. CAP analyst Morizio listed the items that will be on the site:

• A. Mission Statement,
• B. Directions to the Brooklyn, Queens and Garden City offices,
• C. Federal Register Announcement,
• D. Upcoming Meeting Schedule,
• E. Panel Names and Locations (County),
• F. Panel Picture,
• G. Talking Points and
• H. Taxpayer Testimonials.

The subcommittee also decided to include pictures on the site, showing various landmarks from each county. CAP Analyst Morizio asked the panel for non-copyrighted pictures for inclusion on the site. We do not have to put all of our pictures on at once, but can change or add pictures later on. The panel recommended that the picture on the Home Page should be rotated bimonthly. Taxpayer Advocate Bailey ran a preview of the site and was impressed with the results so far

Panel Member Activities

Chairperson instituted a new feature at its meetings, where every panel member gets a chance to discuss the activities they are involved in. Chairperson began the discussion.

Chairperson Montes - Over the last month, he has attended several IRS events. The most recent one was held in Philadelphia at a meeting of the Northeast Region Collection Chiefs, which he attended with Taxpayer Advocate Bailey and Regional Taxpayer Advocate George Deller. His message to them was that CAP's will form in other Districts and they were all very interested in how the CAP will affect them.

He discussed the CAP with Congressman Lazio and other elected officials at the Puerto Rican Day Parade held last weekend (June 6, 1999). He also spoke at a CPE class held for collection employees at CW Post. The collection employees were very interested in the CAP and Chairperson solicited their opinions and input. He gave his personal E-mail address and the CAP number. Any employee who did not feel comfortable talking to the staff could E-mail Montes personally.

He discussed the videotape of the South Florida public meeting and wants the other panel members to view the tape. He especially liked the idea that people could talk to panel members after the broadcast had ended. Panel member Mihovich suggested that the upcoming public meeting should be videotaped and then the tape could be distributed to various cable stations to air. Taxpayer Advocate Bailey wanted to know how that would affect the FACA rules. The CAP Manager will find out if there are any consequences.

Chairperson will attend Problem Solving Day at the Hauppauge office on June 16, with panel member Kahn.

Panel member Kahn - Participated in a VITA Awards ceremony that had 170 attendees, where he spoke about the CAP. Next filing season, 250 volunteers will distribute CAP information. He attended Problem Solving Day in Headquarters and found that everyone he spoke to was very satisfied with the service. He will attend the upcoming PSD in Hauppauge.

Panel member Rotondi - Has been speaking to practitioners and the response so far has been positive. He will continue to distribute information and will provide feedback to the panel. He also has been driving around with the CAP sign in his car window.

Taxpayer Advocate Bailey - Attended a Tax Symposium with Deller and BSC Taxpayer Advocate Pat Berliner where they discussed the CAP and distributed information. Certain issues were raised, such as including a Power of Attorney right on the 1040 form, which would be perfect for the CAP to look into.

Panel member Aikens - Continues to distribute information to a coalition of non-profit organizations. He gave out information to District Board 3 and will give a presentation to the district members. He would like a speaker to give a presentation on the Earned Income Credit for that event and also for a separate event with the Bed-Stuy Tenant Association.

Panel member Maher - Attended a meeting of the New York State Baker's Association, where he spoke about the CAP and how the IRS helps small businesses. A local newspaper called him for information and did an article about him and the CAP.

Panel member Fandozzi - Will give a speech tomorrow at the Brooklyn District All Managers meeting. Two local papers have done articles about him and the CAP. He will chair the Performance Measures Working Group at the National Conference.

Panel member Mihovich - With Chairperson Montes and CAP Manager McKeon, he appeared on the Ron Thomas Small Business Forum, a half-hour radio program aimed at small business owners. Ron Thomas seemed interested in doing other shows about the CAP and has a potential audience of one million listeners. The show will air at 9 AM on July 2 and again at 6:30 PM on July 5 on WNYE 91.5 FM.

Panel member Richards - Corrected her draft letter to CBO's and faxed in the names of organizations to the CAP staff. Once school is finished, she will be able to devote more time to the EITC issue with panel member Greenberg.

Panel member Greenberg - Disseminated information on the EITC to the panel, with additional information to the EITC sub-committee. She has gone to local libraries to distribute the CAP bookmarks.

Panel member Louer - As the Ombudsman for a large co-op, she distributed cards to the 180 families living there. She will also place materials in a local physician's office.

CAP Manager McKeon - Announced that CAP Analyst Sexton received a promotion and the entire panel offered their congratulations. He also sent out follow-up letters to local members of Congress who may be attending the Capital Hill session at the National Conference. Panel member Fandozzi was not aware that letters were sent out and wanted to get copies of all letters sent out. Panel member Mihovich wondered whether they needed Vice-chairperson Nahikian's letter any longer, since these invitational letters may have taken the place of introduction letters.

Mihovich requested that Taxpayer Advocate Bailey issue a weekly report summarizing the activities and accomplishments of the CAP. It should also include any upcoming events, as well as copies of information or letters.

Follow up: The CAP Manager will examine any FACA consequences to videotaping the public meeting for distribution to local cable stations.

Follow up: The CAP Manager will prepare a weekly summary of CAP activities to be sent to all panel members.

National CAP Conference

Update

Panel members were encouraged to set up appointments with their local elected officials for Thursday afternoon, July 1. An updated agenda was prepared and contains a small revision, in which a new working session was added and two others were combined. Booz-Allen may have to move panel members around in order to get a good mix at the various working sessions. McKeon and Maher are working on the Outreach session, while Fandozzi will chair the Performance Measures session, which will continue to work after the meeting into the summer. McKeon clarified the transportation arrangements from the airports to the hotel; the panel members must call the shuttle in advance.

The added session will consist of an important new initiative in reviewing IRS forms and publications. The working session represents the first step in having the CAPs act as focus groups to review forms and publications. The following panel members are interested in the added session:

• A. Horace Aikens
• B. Marjorie Louer
• C. Burton Kahn
• D. Matt Mihovich

Old Business

Customer Service Walk-In

The signs for the Walk-In area just came in earlier today. They should be up within two weeks.

EITC

All of the sub-committee members were given research materials on the EITC, provided by Barbara Willard from the South Florida CAP. This included their proposal, as well as a sample folder on EITC distributed last filing season. The sub-committee met with the District EITC coordinator, Merle O'Brien and viewed a training video on EITC. They are planning a workshop with her and agents from Criminal Investigation Division on July 27 from 6-8 to discuss the fraud aspects of EITC. They must reach a decision on what aspects of EITC they will look into, as there is just so much information available.

Sub-chair Greenberg detailed the three aspects of EITC that the South Florida CAP dealt with as legislative issues:

• A. Eligible child requirement - should be the same requirements as the dependent rules.
• B. Definition of Household - should be a family unit, instead of a residence
• C. Eliminate Age requirements - no reason to require a person to be age 25 through 65

Chairperson felt that if two panels could work together on the same issues, that would lend greater support to those proposals. The EITC has been discussed so far in all four CAPs and he believes that all the panels should pool their resources and ideas into national recommendations. However, he stated that the Brooklyn CAP will not rubber stamp anyone else's proposals just to jump on their bandwagon. Panel member Maher stated that they could use the website to facilitate communication between the CAPs. Panel member Kahn wondered if the CAPs are empowered to recommend legislative changes. Both the Chairperson and Taxpayer Advocate answered in the affirmative that the CAPs can make recommendations to Congress through the National Taxpayer Advocate.

District Director Murphy stated that the National EITC Coordinator, Candace Cromley can possibly arrange to speak to the two CAPs working on the EITC.

Language Proposal

Panel member Mihovich wants to revisit the language diversity problem by revising his original proposal submitted at the last meeting. He recommends forming a language diversity sub-committee to explore solutions to problems. The sub-committee should focus on one or two groups, e.g. Koreans and/or Russians, and explore three avenues.

Area One:

• A. Language Assistance Days (LADS) - Similar to Problem Solving Days except that in this case, IRS would have translators present for the desired language groups.
• B. Field Language Assistance Days (FLADS) - Similar to A but held at a facility within the community.
• C. Tax Guide Articles in Foreign Language Community Papers - To be timed for year's end and tax season. Work with local editors and provide articles already translated.
• D. Tax Guide FAQ Pamphlets - Written in the foreign language and aimed at distribution within the focus communities through banks, associations, community groups, etc. Include EIC and small business FAQs.

Area Two:

• A. Language Workstations - A computer station equipped with interactive software in the language of the group that would enable a Korean or Russian to type in his questions and receive responses in his language. First examine a similar system at the Queens Library and there may be a need to overlay the keypad with one more appropriate to the alpha-numeric characters of the language.
• B. Tax Guide FAQ Pamphlets - Have them at the walk-in centers.

Area Three:

Explore ways of changing current IRS letters and notices to make them more "user-friendly." Computer generated letters can follow a four section template which would include:

• A. Opening and Finding - Here, simply answer why the IRS is writing to the taxpayer.
• B. Resulting Changes
• C. Why the Changes and What to Do about Them - This is not the legal section, but where the causes of the changes and how to resolve them are simply stated. Asterisk the causes and provide the legal stuff at letter's end.
• D. Resolution Options and Closing - Here's where appeals and payment terms are discussed and the letter formally closed. Need to include CAP option.

Chairperson asked for consensus on the formation of a sub-committee to investigate these proposals. Maher stressed that these are important issues and can be very sensitive. Aikens stated that the sub-committee should focus on communications, not on culture. The panel reached consensus on the formation of the sub-committee, with Mihovich as the sub-chair. Chairperson and Taxpayer Advocate both volunteered to serve on the sub-committee.

New business/Open Discussions

New Proposals

Panel member Mihovich issued a second proposal (copy attached) in response to allegations that the IRS collection actions have dropped precipitously. District Director Murphy stated the Section 1203b provisions contained in the RRA 98 concern all employees and have done more to lower employee morale than anything else she has ever seen in her career. Employees are not willing to put their jobs on the line and, as a result, enforcement actions have dried up.

The CAP may want to issue a letter to employees that the CAP is their advocate as well and is willing to listen to their ideas. Chairperson is willing to draft a letter to employees to be included in the District Newsletter. District Director Murphy would be happy to include the letter in the Bulletin to let employees know that the CAP is here to help make the system work for everyone. She would like the minutes given to the Communications Officer so they can be summarized and she also would consider giving credit hours to managers who wish to attend CAP meetings.

Panel member Kahn submitted a proposal (copy attached), regarding the issuance of 8109-B payment coupons for review by the panel.

A discussion was held regarding the submission of proposals. Chairperson wanted to know if any panel member felt that proposals were brought to the table and then prematurely shot down. Panel member Greenberg felt that a more formal proposal method needed to be adopted. She suggested that all proposals be submitted in writing to the Chairperson to include on the agenda. Chairperson further recommended that proposals should allow the full panel to think about the issue and should, therefore, not contain any solutions or recommendations. CAP Manager McKeon stated that the staff is here to help with the drafting of any possible proposals.

Follow-up: Chairperson will draft a letter to all Brooklyn District employees for inclusion in the District's Newsletter.

Adjournment

The meeting adjourned at 9:20 P.M.

I hereby certify that, to the best of my knowledge, the foregoing minutes are accurate and complete.

Jim Montes, Chairperson
Brooklyn District Citizens Advocacy Panel

These minutes will be formally considered by the Panel at its next meeting, and any corrections or notations will be incorporated in the minutes of that meeting.

Attachments:
Agenda Items

6/23/99