FROM THE OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS October 8, 2002PO-3515 The Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service today announced the selection of 102 members who will serve on the new nationwide Taxpayer Advocacy Panel (TAP). This program has been significantly expanded to all 50 states. The TAP members will represent the concerns of taxpayers and identify issues that should be addressed and provide critical input to the IRS. “The new panel members have an important job to make sure that the IRS provides world-class service to taxpayers. Now that we have expanded the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel to all 50 states, we can ensure that taxpayers from every corner of the country will have their voices heard,” stated Treasury Secretary Paul O’Neill. Treasury Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy, Pam Olson, met with the new members of the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel. (The full text of the remarks are available at www.treas.gov) “On behalf of the President Bush, Secretary O’Neill, and the Treasury Department, I thank you for volunteering your time, your energy, your talent, and your experience to this effort,” stated Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Tax Policy Pam Olson. “The President has spoken of the value of volunteerism in America, and he has urged Americans to volunteer to help their neighbors, their communities, and their government. Never has this been more important. You have all volunteered to serve and your work is essential to ensuring a more taxpayer-friendly IRS.” The TAP program will work directly with the National Taxpayer Advocate’s Office on issues identified by the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel. The National Taxpayer Advocate is the taxpayers’ representative within the IRS and reports directly to the Commissioner of Internal Revenue and to Congress through an annual report. Taxpayer Advocacy Panel (TAP) members will: • Get direct input from taxpayers about their experiences with the IRS. Membership slots were determined based on the taxpaying population per state. Each state has at least one member. TAP members are U.S. citizens who devote about 300 hours during the year to the panel. Professions represented in the membership include tax professionals (tax attorneys and accountants), professors, retired military, small business owners, and one former state legislature member. Attached is a list of the new Taxpayer Advocacy Panel members.
ALASKA Sherry Whah ARIZONA ARKANSAS CALIFORNIA Yvonne Gallegos-Bodle Curtis Feese Cheyanna L. Jaffke Christopher Lowe Michelle Nelson Howard Perkins Charles Taylor COLORADO DELAWARE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA FLORIDA Gwen Handelman Edward Hanna Keith Johnson Sharon Lassar Owen Oatley’ George Sullivan GEORGIA Tim D. Jarrell HAWAII
Robin Gausebeck Richard Greenberg Lawrence Lexow INDIANA Teresa Smedley IOWA KANSAS LOUISIANA MAINE MARYLAND Faith Vinikoor MASSACHUSETTS MICHIGAN Nancy Quarles MINNESOTA Thomas P. Seuntjens MISSISSIPPI MISSOURI Kenneth Logan NEVADA NEW HAMPSHIRE NEW JERSEY Robert Maziarz David Meyer Leonard Steinberg NEW MEXICO NEW YORK Walter Fish James Grimaldo Paul Nagel Shamsey Oloko NORTH CAROLINA C. Morgan Edwards NORTH DAKOTA OHIO Frank Claudman Thad Davis OKLAHOMA
PENNSYLVANIA Manning Mosley, III Doreen Scott RHODE ISLAND SOUTH DAKOTA TENNESSEE Linda Miller TEXAS Roejeana Warren Lillian Woo UTAH VERMONT VIRGINIA Calvin K. Johnson WASHINGTON Joseph Reder WISCONSIN Glenn Hall Robert Meldman
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