Taxpayer Advocacy Panel Members Selected

IR-2015-32, Feb. 19, 2015

WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service recommended and the Department of Treasury approved the selection of 29 new members to serve on the nationwide Taxpayer Advocacy Panel (TAP). The TAP is a federal advisory committee charged with providing taxpayer suggestions to improve IRS customer service.

The new TAP members will join 46 returning members to round out the panel of 75 volunteers for 2015. The new members were selected from more than 400 interested individuals who applied during an open recruitment period last spring and the pool of alternate members who applied in prior years.

"Members of TAP volunteer their time to represent taxpayers and help the IRS understand their issues," said IRS Commissioner John Koskinen. "The TAP plays an important role in sound tax administration."

The TAP listens to taxpayers, identifies issues and makes suggestions for improving 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.

“To meet the needs of the taxpaying public, it is critical that the IRS listen to taxpayers to hear what their needs and preferences are,” said Nina E. Olson, the National Taxpayer Advocate. “The citizen volunteers who serve on the TAP are, first and foremost, taxpayers who bring a taxpayer perspective to bear in advising on the IRS’s taxpayer service activities.”

TAP members work with IRS executives on a variety of topics, with an emphasis on those involving the Wage & Investment and Small Business/Self-Employed operating divisions. 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. 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.

Taxpayers can contact the TAP representative for their geographic area by calling 888-912-1227 (a toll-free call) or via the Internet at www.improveirs.org. Taxpayers can also send written correspondence to the TAP at the following address:

Taxpayer Advocacy Panel (TAP)
TA: TAP, Room 1509
1111 Constitution Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C.  20224

Individuals interested in volunteering to serve on the TAP for 2016 may submit an application via the website www.improveirs.org during the next open recruiting period, which will begin in March 2015.

A list of the new TAP members by location is included below.