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.
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