Taxpayer Advocacy Panel Releases 2011 Annual Report
The Taxpayer Advocacy Panel (TAP), a Federal Advisory Committee consisting of citizen volunteers from across the nation, has released its 2011 Annual Report, describing its activities and recommendations to improve IRS service and customer satisfaction. The report summarizes the TAP’s accomplishments, including 41 new recommendations and 25 projects the panel completed in 2011.
The 2011 Annual Report highlights key TAP recommendations for IRS customer service improvements that include:
- Making identity theft information more readily available to taxpayer victims;
- Improving the process for matching a taxpayer’s name with IRS records to increase the acceptance of e-filed tax returns;
- Revising procedures to help individuals who failed to file required returns in prior years obtain the instructions, forms and information necessary to prepare and file those past-due returns;
- Emphasizing e-filing and sending a reminder postcard to filers of Form 2290, Heavy Highway Vehicle Use Tax Return;
- Improving the self-service distribution of forms and publications in IRS Taxpayer Assistance Centers;
- Improving service and communication in the Correspondence Examination program; and
- Proposing more than 100 recommendations designed to improve several IRS tax forms and publications.
The report highlights additional TAP activities that include:
- Redesign of the TAP structure and workflow processes to reduce the operating costs of the program and focus on larger systemic issues;
- Over 1,500 outreach activities with the taxpaying public and service as a listening post for the IRS; and
- Teaming with the IRS on a number of special events, including Tax Forums, Earned Income Tax Credit Awareness Days, and IRS Live Webinars.
TAP members are appointed by the Treasury Department from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. TAP members serve three-year terms, with approximately one-third replaced each year by new volunteers. The TAP is chartered as an independent advisory committee under the Federal Advisory Committee Act to provide a taxpayer perspective on critical tax administration programs.
Current TAP Chair Eboni Moss formally submitted the 2011 TAP Annual Report to the Secretary of the Treasury, the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, and the National Taxpayer Advocate on October 12, 2012. Moss thanked the Treasury Department, the IRS, and the Taxpayer Advocate Service for their support and partnership in working toward improved IRS service and taxpayer satisfaction.
A copy of the report is available on the TAP website at www.improveirs.org. If you have any questions about the TAP, please call the Panel’s toll-free number at 1-888-912-1227.
