IR-2016-37, March 8, 2016 WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service today announced it recommended and the Department of the Treasury has approved the selection of 32 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 41 returning members to round out the panel of 73 volunteers for 2016. The new members were selected from more than 1,000 interested individuals who applied during an open recruitment period last spring and the pool of alternate members who applied in prior years. 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 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 three-year appointments 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. A list of the new TAP members, by location, is included below. Name City State/Territory Terrence Randolph New Market AL Gary Hoff Hot Springs Village AR Lorena Barham New Haven CT Paul Kurth Washington DC DC Chardea Murray Jacksonville FL Son Luu Tyrone GA Collette Keeton Ellenwood GA Ruth Tsujimura Honolulu HI Scott Hall Louisville KY Felicia Horton Lexington KY Jon Lumbra Holyoke MA Ellen Bemis Presque Isle ME Mary Florence Kansas City MO MiCoya Hutchins Nashua NH Kathy Davis Albuquerque NM Mary Ann Callahan New York NY Brooks White Brooklyn NY Louis Vlahos Port Washington NY Diana Nelson Mason OH Sheila Olsen Lawton OK Dara Hackett Philadelphia PA Omar Jana Caguas PR Susan Wennermark Providence RI Blake Parke Sioux Falls SD William Mason Knoxville TN Randy Williams Memphis TN Ashley Hunter Austin TX Rodney Steman Hurst TX David Jones Hickory Creek TX Kelly Hanssen Austin TX Holly Hoffman Amherst WI Timothy Bolin Cheyenne WY Taxpayers can contact the TAP representative for their geographic area by calling 888-912-1227 toll-free 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 2017 may submit an application via the website www.improveirs.org during the next open recruiting period, which will begin later in March 2016. Follow the IRS on New Media Subscribe to IRS Newswire
