IR-2020-63, April 1, 2020 WASHINGTON — The IRS has extended the deadline for members of the public to apply for membership on the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel for 2021. Individuals may submit a TAP application online at www.improveirs.org through April 20, 2020. Please consider this opportunity to make a difference in how the IRS delivers products and services. A video is available with information about the TAP and how volunteers can contribute to this dynamic group. New members for 2020 The Internal Revenue Service recommended, and the Department of the Treasury has approved, the selection of 33 new members to serve on the TAP for 2020. The new TAP members will join 32 returning members to round out the panel of 65 volunteers for 2020. The new members were selected from a pool of more than 300 interested individuals who applied during an open recruitment period last spring and alternate members who applied in prior years. The TAP is a federal advisory committee charged with listening to taxpayers, identifying issues, and making suggestions to improve IRS service and customer satisfaction. Oversight and program support for the TAP are provided by the Taxpayer Advocate Service, an independent organization within the IRS that helps resolve taxpayer problems and makes administrative and legislative recommendations to mitigate systemic problems. Members of the TAP work on a variety of issues that impact taxpayers in the key areas where the IRS and the public interact the most. Members also serve as a conduit for bringing grassroots concerns raised by the taxpaying public to the attention of the IRS. TAP members are U.S. citizens who volunteer to serve a three-year appointment and are expected to devote 200 to 300 hours per year to panel activities. To the extent possible, TAP members are demographically and geographically diverse, providing balanced representation from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. In addition, there is one TAP member from abroad who represents the interests of taxpayers working, living, or doing business abroad or in a U.S. territory. The new TAP members by location: Name City State James Sharmat Santa Monica CA Sandy Villella Wildomar CA Cynthia Torres Riverside CA Martha Lewis Colorado Springs CO Barbara Snowden West Haven CT Alexas Pickron Townsend DE Joseph Magyar Tampa FL Charles Jones Green Cove Springs FL Nina Tross Apollo Beach FL Ying Sa Des Moines IA Hercules Iraklis Analitis Urbana IL Jordan Bayles Terre Haute IN Paula King Lexington KY Kimberly Shepherd Monroe LA Dorothy Havey Lincolnville ME Jocelyn Gutowski Saint Robert MO Jessica Wilson Byram MS Jim Buttonow Summerfield NC Edward Donvan Holly Springs NC Cedric Obiaka Omaha NE Kenneth Lewis New York City NY T Renee Parker Brentwood NY Patrice Brown Brooklyn NY Thomas Kerr Amherst NY Laurie Brock Eugene OR Lindsey Funair Du Bois PA Michael Avery San Juan PR Brandon Ruest North Providence RI Leigh Ann Wood Columbia SC Joseph Edelen Vermillion SD Marlon Bell Pearland TX Cassandra Knight-Paige Houston TX Richard Brouillard Waterloo WI Taxpayers can contact the TAP representative for their geographic area by calling 888-912-1227 (a toll-free call) or online at www.improveirs.org. Taxpayers can also send written correspondence to the TAP at the following address: Taxpayer Advocacy Panel TA:TAP, Room 1509 1111 Constitution Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20224
