Recently, John Shoemaker, a member of the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel (TAP) who serves as the representative for taxpayers living or working abroad, joined the American Bar Association International Law Section’s International Tax Committee for a guest presentation focusing on challenges taxpayers face dealing with complex international tax issues. During this virtual guest presentation attendees shared questions and insights about complicated tax rules, compliance concerns, and their overall experiences with the IRS.
What TAP members heard in this discussion echoes a broader trend also highlighted in the National Taxpayer Advocate’s 2025 Annual Report to Congress, where international issues rank among the most serious problems taxpayers face. You can learn more about this issue and the other most serious problems facing taxpayers by exploring the full report on the Taxpayer Advocate Service website.
Why does this matter? Because these conversations and other grassroots outreach help TAP identify real problems that affect taxpayers every day. In this case, the discussion led to two potential issues that TAP plans to explore as part of its 2026 projects, that could lead to improvements in IRS processes and services.
By engaging directly with the tax community, TAP stays connected to what taxpayers are experiencing and works to make the system more responsive and user friendly.
Submit Your Suggestions to Improve the IRS
Do you have an idea to improve IRS services? If so, TAP wants to hear from you. It just takes a few minutes to complete Form 14388, Taxpayer Advocacy Panel (TAP) Issue Submission.
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