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IRS Selects New Members for Taxpayer Advocacy Panel

APR. 1, 2020

IR-2020-63

DATED APR. 1, 2020
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Citations: IR-2020-63

IRS extends deadline for 2021 Taxpayer Advocacy Panel applications, adds new members for the 2020 panel

04|01|20

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/Territory

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

Donovan

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, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20224 

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