October 08, 2002
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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