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What is the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel?

What is the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel?

The Taxpayer Advocacy Panel is a Federal Advisory Committee to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). If you’re a taxpayer and you have important issues that need to be identified or want to see a deeper perspective on the IRS on key programs, products, and services, then you may want to reach out to TAP. It makes recommendations to the IRS and the National Taxpayer Advocate as it is also a focus group created for that purpose.

The Taxpayer Advocacy Panel is a group of 75 citizen volunteers and their job includes listening to taxpayers, identify issues faced by taxpayers, and making a suggestion to improve the service and customer satisfaction of the IRS. Representative each state, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel is demographically and geographically diverse with taxpayers from all walks of life. For taxpayers living abroad, they are represented with at least one member of the Panel.

To solicit suggestions or ideas from citizens, and serve on project committees working with IRS program owners on topics that are of importance to taxpayers and the IRS, the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel conducts outreach.

How to be a Member of the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel (TAP)

Individuals who want to help improve the national tax agency have been invited by the Department of Treasury and with Internal Revenue Service to send their applications and be members of the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel. You are expected to help meet Pane’s mission to provide citizen input into enhancing IRS customer satisfaction and service by figuring out the problems and make suggestions for the improvement of the IRS’ systems and procedures. You will be helping to elevate the problems that were identified to the appropriate IRS official and refer individual taxpayers to the appropriate IRS office for assistance in resolving their issues. The subcommittees of the Panel will consist of 10-19 volunteer members who will report to the Secretary of Treasury and will perform solely as advisory bodies.

The Taxpayer Advocacy Panel program works with the National Taxpayer Advocate’s Office directly on identified issues by the IRS and the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel. The taxpayers will be represented by the National Taxpayer Advocate within the IRS and reports directly to the Internal Revenue Commissioner and through an annual report, to Congress.

Nina Olson, National Taxpayer Advocate said in a statement that they committed to working with taxpayers to improve the customer-service focus of the IRS as working with taxpayers directly helps them to identify issues that may not be on the IRS radar screen. She also added that they can hear the people’s concerns about issues the IRS is already addressing.

Responsibilities of the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel (TAP) members:

    •    Will listen to the taxpayers’ input about their experiences with the IRS.

    •    Will identify and prioritize problems of greatest concern to taxpayers.

    •    Reach out to the IRS and Treasury and provide recommendations regarding their customer-service issues.

    •    Cooperate with the IRS to help taxpayers answer key issues and concerns.

    •    Annually make reports to Treasury, the Commissioner Internal revenue and the National Taxpayer Advocate.

If you want to send in your application to be a TAP member, you must ensure that you are a United States citizen, be able to commit significant time to the panel, and meet specific other eligibility requirements. You may go online and visit www.improveirs.orgor for further details and for the application form or by calling 1-888-912-1227. You can send your application online or download the form and mail it to the below address:

   Milwaukee TAP Office

   Stop 1006MIL

   310 West Wisconsin Avenue

   Milwaukee, WI 53203-2221                               

The following locations need a Tap Member to represent the program: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, the District of Columbia, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Maryland, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

The panel, on the other hand, is seeking alternates in the following locations: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Delaware, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

A balanced membership in terms of points of view represented is required from the federal advisory committees.  As such, under-represented groups’ applicants such as Native Americans and non-tax professionals, are especially encouraged to apply. You need only to ensure that you submit your application in a timely manner.

Starting in December 2020, new TAP members will serve a three-year term. Any vacancies that open in their areas during the next three years will be filled in by applicants chosen as alternate members.

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