Taxpayer Advocacy Panel Members Selected

WASHINGTON - 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). The panel members will listen to taxpayers, identify issues and make suggestions for improving IRS service and customer satisfaction.

“It is important to bring real-world experience to government operations,” said IRS Commissioner Charles O. Rossotti. “Because of their wealth of experience, the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel members will bring important perspectives to help with tax administration.”

"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," said Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill.

Panel members will work with IRS executives on priority topics – primarily those involving the Wage and Investment Division and Small Business / Self Employed Division. Also, members serve as a conduit for grassroots issues from the public and provide that information to the IRS.

“We look forward to working with taxpayers in improving the customer-service focus of the IRS,” said Nina Olson, IRS National Taxpayer Advocate. “Working with taxpayers directly will help us identify issues that may not be on the IRS radar screen. We can also hear their concerns about issues the IRS is already addressing and become involved before decisions are made.”

TAP members are U.S. citizens who devote about 300 hours during the year to the panel. Professions represented on the panel include tax professionals (tax attorneys and accountants), professors, retired military, small business owners and one former state legislature member.

For the first time, the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel will have membership from all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Previously, the panel was called the Citizen Advocacy Panel (CAP), which was based in four regional locations and had members from 10 states. The Treasury Department, which sponsors the group, recommended expanding the program to include representation from all 50 states. Each state was allotted membership based on its taxpaying population.

Taxpayers can contact their state representative to the Panel, by calling 1-888-912-1227 or via the internet at www.improveirs.gov. Taxpayers can also write to the Panel and mail your correspondence to:

Taxpayer Advocacy Panel (TAP)
TA: TAP Room 3031 IR
1111 Constitution Avenue,
N.W. Washington, D.C. 20224

[Editors, please note that a list of the new panel members is attached to this news release. The attached list includes 85 members who have been formally approved. Another 17 are in the final stages of approval.]

Taxpayer Advocacy Panel Members

ALABAMA
Francis (Buck) J. Paolone - Hoover

ALASKA
Bruce Twomley - Juneau
Sherry Whah - Anchorage

ARIZONA
Gregory J. Maciulla - Tucson

ARKANSAS
Steven Wood - Little Rock

CALIFORNIA
Norma Bishop - Santa Barbara
Yvonne Gallegos-Bodle - Oxnard
Curtis Feese - Covina
Cheyanna L. Jaffke - Placentia
Christopher Lowe - Placentia
Michelle Nelson - Mission Viejo
Howard Perkins - Suisun City
Charles Taylor - San Diego

COLORADO
Richard A. Cormier - Alamosa

DELAWARE
Patrick McCombie - Wilmington.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Theodore Perros

FLORIDA
Mary Lou Beyreis - Jacksonville
Gwen Handelman - Ft. Lauderdale
Edward Hanna - Temple Terrace
Keith Johnson - Jacksonville
Sharon Lassar - Miami
Owen Oatley´ - Holly Hill
George Sullivan - N Fort Myers

GEORGIA
Charlotte Cassady - Talbotton
Tim D. Jarrell - Kennesaw

HAWAII
Clayton Agena - Honolulu

ILLINOIS
Robert M. Burke - Chicago
Robin Gausebeck - Rockford
Richard Greenberg - Hinsdale
Lawrence Lexow - Edwardsville

INDIANA
Carl Hansen - Indianapolis
Teresa Smedley - Salem

IOWA
Denise Bigger - Albia

KANSAS
Nan Wilson - Overland Park

LOUISIANA
Helen Curol - Lake Charles

MAINE
Catherine J. Kelly - Corinth

MARYLAND
George Pruchniewski - Baltimore
Faith Vinikoor - Baltimore

MASSACHUSETTS
Charles W. Silva - Orleans

MICHIGAN
Leslie R. Malcolmson - Detroit
Nancy Quarles - Southfield

MINNESOTA
Laura De Marais - Minneapolis
Thomas P. Seuntjens - Wayzata

MISSISSIPPI
Phil Bryant - Brandon

MISSOURI
Linda Bader - Chesterfield
Kenneth Logan - Blue Springs

NEVADA
Justin Doucette - Las Vegas.

NEW HAMPSHIRE
Abigail Alicea - Nashua

NEW JERSEY
Anthony DiMartino - Toms River
Robert Maziarz - Hainesport
David Meyer - Voorhees
Leonard Steinberg - West Windsor

NEW MEXICO
Mario Burgos - Cedar Crest

NEW YORK
Aimee Gomlak Brace - Buffalo
Walter Fish - Bellmore
James Grimaldo - Brooklyn
Paul Nagel - Glen Cove
Shamsey Oloko - Staten Island

NORTH CAROLINA
Mary Balmer - Chapel Hill
C. Morgan Edwards - Charlotte

NORTH DAKOTA
Paul W. Smathers - Edgeley

OHIO
Brig Gen. (ret) James Abraham, P.E. - Gahanna
Frank Claudman - Warrensville Heights
Thad Davis - Van Wert.

OKLAHOMA
Patrick Castleberry - Oklahoma City

OREGON
Virginia Symonds - Portland

PENNSYLVANIA
Gerald G. Gensiejewski, Jr. - Newtown
Manning Mosley, III - Wayne
Doreen Scott - Pittsburgh

RHODE ISLAND
Diane Mignano - North Kingstown

SOUTH DAKOTA
John Hollingsworth - Aberdeen

TENNESSEE
Larry Barnard - Morristown
Linda Miller - Memphis

TEXAS
Maria J. Hermann-Pariente - El Paso
Roejeana Warren - Dallas
Lillian Woo - Bryan

UTAH
Sharon Stetz - Salt Lake City

VERMONT
Ekileen Shuman - Brattleboro

VIRGINIA
Karen Kerrigan - Vienna
Calvin K. Johnson - Norfolk

WASHINGTON
Christopher Forzano - Vancouver
Joseph Reder - Richland

WISCONSIN
Daniel Drumel - Wind Lake
Glenn Hall - Madison
Robert Meldman - Milwaukee

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