Taxpayer Advocacy Panel Recruitment

Taxpayer Advocacy Panel Recruitment
Applications Now Being Accepted
Deadline to Apply is April 29, 2005

WASHINGTON, DC-- The Department of Treasury, along with the Internal Revenue Service, is inviting individuals to help improve the nation's tax agency by applying to be members of the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel. The mission of the Panel is to provide citizen input into enhancing IRS customer satisfaction and service by identifying problems and making recommendations for improvement with IRS systems and procedures; elevating the identified problems to the appropriate IRS official; and referring individual taxpayers to the appropriate IRS office for assistance in resolving their problems. The Panel's subcommittees will consist of 10-19 volunteer members who serve at the pleasure of the Secretary of Treasury and will function solely as advisory bodies.

The TAP program works directly with the National Taxpayer Advocate's Office on issues identified by the IRS and the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel. The National Taxpayer Advocate is the taxpayers' representative within the IRS and reports directly to the Commissioner Internal Revenue and to Congress through an annual report.

"We are committed to working with taxpayers to improve the customer-service focus of the IRS," stated Nina Olson, National Taxpayer Advocate. "Working with taxpayers directly helps us identify issues that may not be on the IRS radar screen. We can also hear their concerns about issues the IRS is already addressing."


Taxpayer Advocacy Panel (TAP) members:

• Get direct input from taxpayers about their experiences with the IRS.
• Identify and prioritize issues of greatest concern to taxpayers.
• Make recommendations to the IRS and Treasury on customer-service issues.
• Work with the IRS to help taxpayers address key issues and concerns.
• Report annually to Treasury, the Commissioner Internal Revenue and the National Taxpayer Advocate.

To qualify as a TAP member, applicants must be U.S. citizens, be able to make a significant time commitment to the panel, and meet certain other eligibility requirements. Further details and the application are available on-line at improveirs.org or by calling 1-888-912-1227. You can apply on-line or download the form and mail it to:

Milwaukee TAP Office
Stop 1006MIL
310 West Wisconsin Avenue
Milwaukee, WI 53203-2221

Applications must be received by the TAP Office by April 29, 2004.
FROM THE OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS April 1, 2005 JS-2353